Take My Heart
by MetalWolfMelody
Summary: Danny always knew that he would give his own life in order to save a live- that's what he swore when he first put on his uniform. But when a tragic accident doesn all but kill him, both he and Steve must deal with the crippling effects. Steve is lost without his partner by his side in the field, but that's the least of his concerns as Danny begins to lose himself.
1. Chapter 1

"I can give you twenty reasons right now why you're wrong, why you're so wrong" Steve spat, one of his hands coming off the wheel as he drove down the afternoon traffic of Honolulu. Danny was shaking his head next to him, teeth grit in frustration. The tension in the car was as high as ever, neither man willing to back down on their side of the argument.

"If I had known that you were such an expert on films from the 1980's, I would have never started this in the first place" Danny retorted sarcastically. They had already been arguing for the better part of five minutes, and at this rate, they would continue for just as long. It was obvious to Danny that Steve was about to continue in his go at the film, but the two froze in the midst of their heated debate to the ringing of Steve's cell phone. With a heavy sigh, and a glare at Danny, he answered it in his usual tone.

"McGarrett."

Silence for a couple of seconds as chatter came through over the cell, and Steve's face grew more grim by the second. A few seconds later he ended the call, and replaced his other hand on the wheel.

"We'll have to finish this one up later, Danny. They want all HPD and law enforcement in the area to some high rise apartments about two blocks from here. Buckle your seatbelt, buddy" he said with a tight smirk.

Danny shook his head and pulled on his seatbelt to prove that it was indeed secured, but something rolled in his gut. The look on Steve's face, the fake smile, all were usually red flags when it came to the stoic SEAL. Looks that didn't come around very often, enough to set Danny on high alert with his best friend. As the car picked up speed, he looked ahead and asked, trying to diminish the nervous feeling that was making his chest constrict.

"So, what's this all about? Did you get any details over that call of yours?" He asked, trying to sound as annoyed and as inquisitive as usual. Steve only shook his head however, and pushed the car forward at yet another increased speed.

This was yet another warning sign for Danny, who realized that it would be better to just shut up and see what happened at the end of this minute long ride.

For the duration of that minute, Danny tried to push down the nervousness in his gut, staring out the window and wondering what in the world could have Steve anywhere close to spooked, or so serious. Of course, serious was the nature of their job. There was nothing about being so involved with crime that wasn't serious. But for some reason, this was something different.

The minute was over quickly, and there were already a couple of squad cars outside of the apartment buildings. This was a part of town that was slightly more busy than the rest of the island, and today it had a small crowd of police officers standing in a cluster at the bottom of the one building.

"What the hell is this, Steve?" Danny asked, scanning the area for a glimpse of a coroner or a body, or hands on holsters in the threat of a chase. Yet there was none of this, only lots of cell phones and radios in hands, and a small crowd of civilians being pushed past a barrier. His heart was beating at an increasing tempo, and something inside made him look up, towards the top of the apartments.

In that moment he stopped breathing, stopped thinking, it felt like he even stopped living. There, with the sun as the backdrop, stood a girl on the edge of the apartment roof, toes curled over the edge.

_ No. Not again. Not this all over again._ The thoughts ran through his mind at a hundred miles an hour, making his hands shake and his stomach churn. Steve turned to him, but the words weren't going through. There was too much static in his mind, too much blood pounding in his ears, too much pain in his heart. There was no way that he could manage to do this again. Not after what happened last time.

Finally Steve snapped him back into reality with a hand on his knee, and a loud voice almost right in his ear.

"Danny! Danny, are you alright? What's wrong!" Steve was yelling, shaking Danny's leg gently. Danny could only close his eyes tightly shut and reply with a hoarse whisper.

"I'm not going to fail another little girl. I'm not going to see the faces of her mother and father after they watched their daughter fall and snap her neck. I'm not going to do that again. I can't do that again."

There was silence from Steve for once, and Danny could feel his eyes boring into his skin. It was too late now, the scenes from that September afternoon back in Jersey were already playing in his head. The description of that day was running through his mind and out of his lips before he could stop himself, blabbering the words in a soft voice, biting back the pain.

"It all started on the first day of fall a few years back, just before I left Jersey…"


	2. Chapter 2

"It all started on the first day of fall a few years back, just before I left Jersey…"

_ It was cold for a September morning, even by Jersey standards. Danny wrapped his jacket a bit tighter around himself, and shook a stray strand of hair out from in front of his eyes. He was jogging down to a squad car with a fellow detective, prepared to head out for a routine drug bust at a local bar. They had a warrant, sound evidence, and the final step would be completed today: bringing in the dealers and letting the American justice system do the rest. _

_ As always, Danny felt a little antsy at the prospect of a drug raid. They weren't his favorite, but they were necessary, and rather moderate in terms of risk. None of the men that they were going after today had any weapons registered in their names, but that didn't mean that they didn't have any on the property that were obtained with illegal methods. The two detectives got into the car, and Danny tucked the warrant into his pocket, buckling his seatbelt. _

_ Before he could even utter a word to his partner for the day, the police radio went off with a crackle of static, making Danny instinctually tune in to the words coming through the device. _

_ "All units in the area, please head quickly to West Highland apartments. Suicide unit is already on the way, but they're about eight minutes out at the least. All available units, please head quickly to West Highland apartments." _

_ With a heavy feeling in his gut, Danny realized that they wouldn't be making that drug bust today. The West Highland apartment series was only a couple of blocks away from the station, and they would have passed it on their way to the bar anyway. Starting the engine quickly, Danny raced out of the department parking lot at full speed, dreading the scene that he knew would await him. A growing crowd of officers and civilians that were huddled on the sidewalk beneath an apartment, where some crying soul had curled their toes over the edge and was looking down. Their back would be to the sun, their face would be shielded in shadow and sorrow, and their body would seem to sway until they either fell back sobbing into the hands of an officer, or forward into oblivion. _

_ Danny knew that there was a small unit that knew how to handle suicide threats like this. An inflatable cushion of air that could be placed below the victim, and a few people who knew just how to sweet talk people that weren't strong enough to hold themselves together at that moment. But as the apartments neared through his view in the windshield, Danny knew that eight minutes may as well have been an eternity. It only took a second to decide life and death, and even less than that for a heart to just simply stop. _

_ But the pain that family would feel, Danny knew that it would never stop. They would have lost someone that they loved, to such a horrible, awful death. The thought was enough to make Danny's stomach twist and his hands shake, but his foot still pressed heavily on the gas, urging the car through the empty streets of mid-morning. _

_ The car came screeching to a halt next to the two squad cars present, and Danny threw it into park before it had even fully stopped moving. He was up and out of the door, moving up to the one officer that was directing the placement of barricades, pushing people back behind a growing wall. Almost too nervous to look up, he confronted the officer with a tone that was sharp and low, despite the growing lump in his throat. _

_ "What's the deal here, chief? What are we doing to handle this situation?" Danny tried to hide his panic, and finally glanced up at their latest situation. In that moment, it felt as though his heart had turned to a rock and sank to his toes. _

_ The apartments weren't terribly tall, only six stories up. At this distance he could see her hair blowing in the soft wind, a small jacket, the same trend as was in most high schools across the district. She was terribly, painfully young. The chief must have seen his pain, for he replied quickly. _

_ "We got a call from some bystanders about five minutes ago about a teenage girl at the top of these apartments, looking like she was about to jump. The apartment manager just ran to get a key for the room from maintenance, because she climbed up the fire escape, but that's not the quickest way up. I heard that the suicide unit is pretty far away, and that they might not get here in time. None of us here are exactly qualified for this, but someone needs to get up there and try to stop here."_

_ Danny knew where this was going. He saw a man in a suit running around the corner, a ring of keys in his hand. It had to be the apartment manager, who was growing closer by the second. From the look in the chief's eye, and by the slight wavering of the body on the top of the apartment building, Danny knew that he was running out of time, and that there was no one else ready to step up to take that job. _

_ Now, to say that he was ready for something like this would have just been blatantly false. It would have been more appropriate to state that he was ready to do whatever he could to save the life of a young girl, to the best of his abilities. Without a second glance back at his car, at the growing crowd, or at his partner, Danny rushed and grabbed the key that the apartment manager offered to him. _

_ Although he had never been into the building before, his feet guided him to the stairwell, and he sprinted at full speed up seven flights of stairs, to the door that led to the roof, and jammed the key into the lock. It turned with a click, and the door swung open, letting sun pour into the musty stairwell. _

_ The noise the door made as it swung open on little used hinges was enough to make the girl turn over her shoulder. She was surprisingly close to the door, only a twenty feet away from where Danny stood. His heart was thundering, sweat was dripping down his brow. He didn't know if he should walk closer, or if he should stay where he was, just letting her stare at him as the sun soaked into their skin. _

_ The wind was bitter, biting into Danny's face as he took a hesitant step forward. The girl didn't speak, just watched him. Two steps, three steps, four steps, slowly closing the gap. Danny could see more clearly now, her youthful features obvious as he came closer to her. She couldn't have been older than seventeen, her hair flying around her with the breeze, tears down her cheeks. Ten feet now. And at ten feet away was when she called out to him. _

_ "No, please don't come any closer. If you do, I'm going to jump." _

_ Whether it was the fact that the wailing wind snatched away her words, or that she was too heartbroken to speak up, Danny couldn't tell. But yet he stopped, not wanting to take a single chance with the girl that wavered far too close to the edge of the world. _

_ "Listen, sweetheart, I would love if you could step away from the edge for me." _

_ He must have done something wrong, for she let out a loud sob, screeching back at him. _

_ "No! Don't call me that! Don't call me that!" Danny balked at her volatile reaction, and tried desperately to grasp for any words in his mind that could satisfy the gap between them. But he didn't need to do that, for she looked back at him and continued speaking, her voice still loud and now obviously filled with pain. _

_ "Don't call me that. That's what he called me right before he ruined me. He ruined all I was. He took EVERYTHING from me. He was a monster but they don't care, because as long as he's a monster on that goddamn football field it doesn't matter what he does anywhere else. It doesn't matter who he does, and if they want to or not. You know what my mother told me? That I was lying for attention. Just because I didn't ace that last report card means that I would lie to her in tears over something like THAT. No one listened. No one wanted to listen. It's too late for that now though. I'm done trying to get through to people that don't give a damn." _

_ Danny could feel his heart breaking. The pain echoed through the air and into the bricks around him, the story of a girl who was all caught up in her pain and no one was willing to take it away. A school system that put a boy with a chance of a scholarship before the safety and security of a young woman. Parents who assumed that their child was crying wolf. _

_ In that moment, Grace was the one thing that filled his mind. He saw her innocent smile, heard her carefree laugh, and then saw her standing here, on this edge. Unable to take a full breath, Danny edged a step closer to her. _

_ "I can listen! You can tell me anything! I'm a police officer, I can put him away and make sure he'll never hurt anyone else again, he'll never hurt you again. That's my job, to take the bad guys away and keep everyone else safe." _

_ She sobbed loud enough that he could hear her wails, despite his desperate pleas with her. She looked at him with red eyes, and once again he saw Grace. Not just another girl, but someone's daughter, someone's love and life and light and joy. And here she stood, ready to plunge to her death, tears in her eyes. Danny didn't even know her name. _

_ It became apparent that his begging was nothing more than a waste of air to this girl. She edged forward just a little bit more, her body seeming to sway with the breeze. Her hair fell away from her face and the sun illuminated her eyes. She spoke again, softly, her eyes closing slowly shut. _

_ "You see officer, it's too late for that. I'm used now. I'm broken. No one wants to have a broken toy, and no one wants a broken me. There's no one left to love me. And I wasn't safe that night, when he took everything from me. My security, my future, and my chance at life. I'm done here. And, officer, it might be your job to keep people safe, but you can't bring someone back to life who 's already dead. He killed me that night. There's nothing you can do now. His name went through my head a hundred times every sleepless night, every time I cried, and it's still there. I can't forget Joshua Romero, and maybe you won't either. Don't let me die for nothing."_

_ She leaned, slowly and peacefully, over the edge. Danny couldn't move fast enough, the world moving by in slow motion as he fought to close that distance faster and faster, darting to the edge just as she dropped out of sight. _

_And of course, he got to the edge just in time to watch her body impact the pavement, head cracking against the pavement at an angle, limbs tangled and broken. A scream tore itself from Danny's throat as he witnessed the cost of his failure, heart shattering into too many pieces to ever truly recover_

A/N: Thanks so much for all the support on this story! This entire chapter was a flashback, but if it was hard to read like this, I'll change the font back to standard, just let me know! :) I hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

Danny retold this story in brief words to Steve, who was left gaping at the blond haired man. He had no idea that Danny had ever gone through such a trying event, and given the closeness of their relationship, he was surprised that this was the first time such a trauma had come to light.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Danny?" Steve questioned, growing concerned as Danny didn't cease his shaking, and seemed to grow increasingly pale. To the question, his partner only shook his head harder.

"Why would I tell you? I try to forget. But the name of her attacker wasn't what stayed in my head. It was hers. Scarlet Mason. I didn't know until I got it from the official report. There's not a day, not a day, where I don't think that I could have saved her."

Steve was near heartbroken as he watched his partner on the verge of tears, recalling an event that had left him with deep scars. Making a quick judgement call in accordance with the situation, Steve gave his partner a tight lipped smile.

"Listen, Danny, you can sit this one out. Actually, I'm telling you to. You can stay in here, I'll get an idea of the situation, and you don't need to worry about a thing. I'll be right back, buddy. This'll turn out just fine, don't you worry" he comforted the detective, who had his eyes tightly shut. With a confirmation nod from his partner, Steve exited the car rapidly, sprinting over to Duke, who looked like he was tackling the situation so far.

"So Duke, what's the situation? What do we have here?" The older man was directing other officers to set up a barricade, while looking nervously up at the top of the building. It wasn't more than six stories tall, but yet there wavered a young girl on the edge of the rooftop. Steve knew that there wasn't any materials or units dedicated to suicides on their sunny island. Spirits were generally high, unlike many of the buildings in this part of the city. Jumpers weren't common, definitely not enough so that there was a staff that could handle a situation like this if it came up. In fact, Steve couldn't recall a suicide attempt from a building in his duration of working on the force. Duke merely sighed, shaking his head.

"She must have gained access by either the fire escape, or she had a key. We're seeing if we can get someone to send up there to talk to her. None of our officers have volunteered so far, but I don't blame them. We aren't trained for this. God, I don't even know how old she is…" his voice wavered, shaking his head. Steve let out a growl beneath his breath. They didn't have the luxury of waiting for someone who knew what the hell they were doing to get there, go up to the girl, and talk her down. And officers who were willing to give their lives in the line of duty were too terrified to go up and see if they could get a good word in with a girl who was about to launch herself from a roof.

Steve ran a hand through his short hair, and shook his head again. It was quickly coming down to what he had feared upon getting the phone call, and more so once he discovered Danny's situation. Just as Danny had been years earlier, he was no professional. He was just a man, and not even a father as Danny had been, who was responsible for saving a life. This was different than those other times now. He didn't have a gun. He didn't have a bad guy.

"Listen, Duke" he said before he could stop himself. "I'm going to go up there. We might not have time to wait. We don't know what state she's in, or how long she'll last. Make sure it doesn't get too clear down here in terms of officers, so she might be more reluctant to jump. I'm going up there, alright? If the stairwell is locked from the inside I'll go to the fire escape. Take care of things down here, I know you can."

Duke nodded to this, and Steve turned back to the car. His jaw dropped in surprise as he saw no sign of Danny in the passenger's seat, and the door of the car was left wide open.

"Oh god. Danny!" Steve yelled, sprinting towards the building. He had to get to the roof, before it was too late for his partner once again.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny's sweaty palms only grazed the edges of the fire escape as he bolted up the metal structure, feet hitting the stairs at a rapid interval. His heart was racing, sweat streaked his brow, and his breaths were shallow. The roof of the apartment grew closer with each passing second, and Danny's head was full of panicked thoughts of bodies falling through empty space.

It was as if he wasn't in control of his body. Steve had turned his back for half a second and it was as though something pulled Danny from his seat, guiding him on swift feet past the police, behind the building, and up the old and rusty fire escape. His feet guided him like they had walked this route before, as if his hands had pulled him up over that brick ledge and onto the roof before. It felt all too familiar. All too close, all too repetitive of that fateful September day. The only thing that Danny was grateful for was the weather, no bite in the air, only sun and humidity.

He walked across the roof slowly, the girl's back to him, her hair swishing slightly as she wavered from side to side. Danny approached her silently, his footsteps making no sound on the weathered asphalt. It felt that his shirt collar was suddenly biting into his throat, the threat of suffocation suddenly much more imminent. But of course the blood pounding in his veins told him not to worry about himself, only to worry about the girl who stood so close to him.

Twenty feet away from her, she turned to look at him. Her hands were up at her face, wiping away tears, her makeup smeared so thick across her face that he could see it clearly from even that distance. She coughed, making her body sway. Danny winced, wishing that he could reach out from that distance and just grab her, hold her body tightly, never let her get so close to the edge of such a dangerous place ever again. He neared her by a few steps, his hands up, showing her that he was unarmed, badge shining on his hip.

Closer and closer he crawled, half step by half step, inching towards her until he tensed. He stopped then, needing no verbal cue to tell him to halt. Almost ten feet now, he could feel it, he could see the pain in her eyes, the tears that kept falling and falling.

"Who… Who are you?" she asked quietly. Danny could hear the heartbreak in her voice, the gentle crack in pitch as she stared at him. Her body had turned, not just her head, so she could look at him fully. Danny breathed a sigh of relief, his mouth upturning slightly despite his fear.

"My name is Danny Williams, and I'm a police officer. They wanted someone to come up here so that we can make sure you're safe. No one wants to see you hurt."

For some reason, the words came out of his mouth much more confident than he felt inside. But to his dismay, the girl gave a heartbreaking reply.

"I do. I don't want to live anymore. That's why I'm up here, don't you understand? I left the details of my reasons with my parents. You can learn more about this then. But it's not your fault. It's none of these people's faults. I didn't want them to be here for this, I didn't want anyone to see this. I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"You won't hurt anyone if you come with me" Danny pleaded, reality crashing down on him like the weight of the world. "You don't have to do this. I know that you're hurting, and I know that there's so much more that people could have done for you. But it's not too late. There's so much time left to take all that pain away. I promise that I can help you."

The words came more naturally from his mouse than he ever could have imagined. He knew where they came from, however. The nights spent up, wondering, worrying if he ever was on that rooftop again, what he could ever say to her. He knew there were words that could never heal what he had let happen in Jersey, but he also knew that he had worked out in his mind that he could have done something better. The words that were coming out of his mouth now, to this girl, was the result of many hours spent thinking of a better way.

"I don't want help. What was taken from me, I can't get it back. He was my uncle, for god's sake. How could he do that to me? I'm tired of crying. I don't want to run from nightmares anymore. I just want this all to be over." The girl was sobbing woefully, her whole body shaking like a leaf in the breeze. Danny edged closer, his mind suddenly blank, the words failing him.

It was as if this scene had come straight from his memory. The tears, the story, the sun streaming down on a rooftop above the street, all of it was from the memory in his mind that was far too clear. It was hard to breathe again, and Danny couldn't help himself from edging forward, half footstep by half footstep. Desperation took over his thoughts and words.

"Listen, whoever hurt you, whoever did that to you, I'll find them. I'll make sure they never hurt you again. I'm a police officer, my job is to make people safe. You can be safe, I'll make sure of it. I promise."

As he spoke, he was getting closer and closer. It was as though the girl was in arms reach now, and Danny could feel a lump growing in his throat She was so young, obviously a high school aged girl, her long brown hair in knots. Black makeup was streaking down her face beneath her eyes, and her eyes were red and bloodshot from all the tears. The tone she used was the same as before, so weak and fragile, as she looked down at the asphalt below.

"I don't want to live anymore. No one is going to love me. I'm used. I'm broken. And now, I'm saying goodbye. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

Danny didn't have the chance to say another word before she started leaning, further and further until it was obvious that she had chosen this moment to fall.

A scream ripped itself from Danny's lungs, and he lunged forward. This time he was close enough. This wasn't ten feet, this was arms distance. He lunged to grab her, but her body was at too much of an angle to stop her. His arms were able to catch her, but the momentum was strong enough to take Danny with her.

There was a moment of fear as he felt his feet lose contact with the roof, and his body getting closer to the girl's as the fell over the edge, both of them screaming loudly. The seconds that followed held fear and serenity as equals while Danny fell through the air, holding the small body of the girl close to his, until he hit the ground and everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve had been inquiring officers on the scene about Danny in a frantic tone since the moment he saw that his partner had fled from the car. Deep inside, Steve suspected the worst: that Danny was up there, setting himself up for failure once again. When Duke started yelling that the girl was turning around, Steve knew. Steve knew immediately that his currently fragile partner had gone up there to try and do the impossible.

He had been just about to bolt up the stairs when he saw Danny's face. He had been so close to the girl, so close to her. It was simply slow motion from there. The girl leaned forward, and Danny went after her. Steve screamed his partner's name, but it was far too late as gravity dug its claws into the girl and the detective, pulling them forward into oblivion.

Steve was running towards Danny even before he had hit the ground, but it was as though the breath was snatched from his lungs when the body finally smacked against the asphalt. Danny had been the one to impact, his body rotating under the girl's while they were mid-fall. It made a sickening crunch as the two hit, and Steve couldn't move.

The girl was still screaming, and she rolled off the detective, wailing at the top of her lungs. Police officers and the paramedics that were already on site ran towards them, and Steve finally found a way to move. He shoved his way through the growing crowd, through the rapidly growing sound, and dropped beside his partner.

"No, no, no!" he yelled, too afraid to touch Danny's body after such a fall. Blood was already pooling beneath the detective, and a small line of blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth. His eyes burning, Steve felt hands tight on his shoulder, pulling him away, and he fought against them to no avail. He was weak in the knees at the sight of Danny, whose limbs were at sharp angles and who was covered in far too much blood. The girl was on her knees sobbing, while Danny didn't move, his eyelids not fluttering in the slightest. Paramedics descended on the duo that had just plunged from the rooftop, and Steve was pulled further and further away.

His screaming had faded from actual words and please to mere yelling as hands on his back and arms pulled him away from Danny further. Through the crowd Steve could see a flurry of activity. A neck brace being put on Danny, his body slid onto a stretcher, the ambulance pulling around, and the girl being put onto a stretcher as well. Still fighting and screaming, it seemed as though only seconds had gone by between the fatal plunge and Danny's body already being taken away.

Finally breaking free from the officers that held him, Steve bolted towards the doors of the closing ambulance, fighting to make it into the vehicle before it departed.

"Let me in!" he screamed at the paramedics, who were closing the doors. But before Steve got there, the vehicle was tearing away, the lights flashing and sirens wailing. There was no hesitation as Steve jumped into the car, roaring away from the scene in pursuit of the ambulance. Although he lost sight of it after a few blocks, he kept driving, eyes burning with the threat of tears.

His hand went automatically to his phone, and he called Chin has fast as he could. Chin picked up quickly, and answered in his usual tone.

"What's up, Steve?"

Steve swallowed, unsure how to get the words out without his voice cracking or tears escaping.

"It's Danny" he finally choked out. "He fell. From the top of a building. He's being taken to the hospital right now. You and Kono, meet me there."

"Is he okay?" Chin asked quickly, worrying spiking obviously over the line. Steve swallowed hard, and closed his eyes for a prolonged second.

"I… I don't know Chin. He didn't look like he was breathing when they took him. I'm on my way to the hospital now. I'll see you there soon."

"Hang in there Steve" the older Hawaiian said softly. "Kono and I will be right there. Don't worry about a thing."

A/N: Thank you so much for the immense support and welcome reception I am receiving with this story. Now, if you guys think I've been cruel so far, just wait another chapter or two :)


	6. Chapter 6

As soon as Steve pulled into the lot, he was out and running towards the doors of the hospital, dodging traffic that was making its way past the entrance. Despite the amount of people that crowded the lobby and the sidewalk, Steve managed to push himself through the commotion and towards the elevator. He knew the hospital all too well. This wasn't the first time one of the team had been here. Gunshot wounds, stab wounds, and everything from poison to car accidents had landed members of the team in this building at least once before.

The elevator seemed far too slow as it climbed the next two stories, Steve practically pressing against the door. When it opened he bolted, darting down the hall to the emergency surgery ward. He bumped into a nurse, slamming her against the wall, but Steve was so frantic he didn't even turn around to apologize. Just before he burst through the swinging doors the led to the trauma surgery ward, a nurse stepped in front of him. This time, Steve had enough sense to stop before he knocked her over.

"Sir, you can't go back there" she said softly, but firmly. Steve looked through the foggy glass as he addressed her, straining to catch a glimpse of any movement beyond the doors.

"But my partner is back there. He must have just gotten in, he was with a girl, they fell from a building. Please, I'm a police officer, I need to know."

Although he pleaded with her, she firmly shook her head and put a hand on his arm. Almost as though she was a mother, she turned him around and pointed to a door down the hall.

"There's a waiting room. If you go sit and wait there for a while, someone will come and alert you on your friend's condition. The best thing you can do for them now is wait patiently and let the doctors do their job without disrupting them. Go on now, go ahead and sit. What's your friend's name?" She asked patiently, pulling a pen from her pocket and directing towards a piece of paper on the wall.

"Danny Williams…" Steve said softly, trying to hide that his voice was on the verge of breaking. The nurse nodded once more in the direction of the waiting room, and Steve plodded there dejectedly, trying to ease the rapid beating of his heart. Yet before his feet could carry him all the way into the room, the thunder of footsteps rounded the corner, and arms wrapped around him like a blanket. Yet he didn't worry, as the form that hugged him closely was more than familiar.

"Wow Kono, you got here quickly" Steve said softly, pulling her into the waiting room gently as Chin followed. Their embrace broke, and Steve pretended that he didn't see her red eyes, then turned to Chin instead of starting the emotional discussion he knew was brewing.

"Yeah we did" Chin said quietly. "Kono had her foot like lead on the gas the entire way here. So tell me, any news on Danny's condition? Have you been told anything?" Steve shook his head grimly in response.

"The nurses here don't even know that they got admitted, or if. No mention of a girl or of Danny."

That sentence caused a glance between the cousins, then back at Steve. It was then that he remembered he had given them no details of the situation that had transpired minutes before. They hadn't seen their friend's body tumbling through the air like a toy, cracking against the pavement like a toy that a child discarded. They hadn't seen the chaos, the blood, only the words that he had spoken into a cell phone. There was no justice done in those few sentences to accurately describe the horrors of that morning, and Steve feared that no words ever would. More so, he feared the last memory of his best friend would be of that stupid little Jersey detective he had grown to love cracking his skull open on the sidewalk. All for the sake of one little girl, of course, Steve knew that Danny would be the one.

"I guess I owe you guys an explanation. I got a phone call saying that we had a potential jumper about two blocks from where we were. Danny and I we… I drove as fast as I could. I hate suicides, I fucking hate suicides, so I wanted to do anything I could to help. But Danny, once he realized what was happening, he freaked out. Turns out he had to go up and try to talk someone down back in Jersey and it… It didn't turn out too well."

Steve paused there, feeling the threat of tears rising in his eyes once again. Yet another potential last memory. A story spilling out of shaking words as Danny squeezed his eyes shut, blinking back tears in the seat of his own car. Somehow, Steve found the will to bury his emotions for a few seconds on, soldiering on through words that he could hardly let leave his mouth.

"Danny was freaked out real bad, he was shaking, he couldn't move. I told him to stay in the car, I was checking with Duke to see how I could help, or if we could leave. I wasn't gone for more than I minute, I swear I wasn't gone for more than one goddamn minute. I turn back around, he's not in the car anymore. He's gone. Next thing I know, I look up and he's up there with this girl, he's right there towards the edge. They were talking, I could see how desperate he was. But she moved, she leaned, and she started falling. Danny, he… he went after her. He almost grabbed her and got her back up on that roof, he was so close to her. But he was just a second too late. She pulled him over too, and they fell… Guys, they were seven stories up."

Kono took a hand and put it over her mouth, eyes growing moist once more. Chin merely put his hands together and looked at the ground, remaining as stoic as he always was. Steve turned to face the soft blue of the waiting room wall, his hands turning to fists, knuckles growing white. Yet the three of them knew that there was nothing that they could do now except sit and wait. The results would take their time, as would any surgery. That is, of course, assuming that Danny lived.


	7. Chapter 7

The three team members sat on uncomfortable folding chairs for the better part of four hours, hardly saying a word. Steve had been staring intently at a spot on the floor of the waiting room, as if he could bore a hole in it simply with his willpower. There was little to discuss. Each of them felt the pain, they each had the same apprehension for Danny's well-being, and they were each ohana for that lovable detective that decided to stay in Hawaii for not only his daughter, but his new family. Would this island, the one that he associated with mixed feelings, be the place he lost his life?

Other families came and went. There was the constant and steady sound of gentle sobbing, beeping monitors, and the smell of any hospital. It stung Steve's nose, but he fought past it, trying to recall the last few days he had spent with Danny. Working cases as usual, trudging through the necessary paperwork for the job, a usual work week with no high profile cases. His partner had been shot, stabbed, nearly tortured to death, but here Steve was, waiting for word on a possibly fatal fall.

Over and over, as if to make it his mantra, Steve reminded himself that no news was good news, at least this far. Danny could still be in surgery, or have been moved to post-op for recovery. A nurse had to be in any second, right?

And as though Steve had willed it into being, his thoughts manifested into reality as a nurse dressed in mint green scrubs walked into the room with a clipboard. Immediately upon her entrance, the three Five-0 members picked up their heads. With a tight lipped smile on her face, the nurse spoke softly, the tone that allowed her words to sink in softly.

"Are you the Williams family?"

All three nodded without a moment of hesitation. The nurse's forced smile grew slightly wider as she moved in to stand in front of the team, who rose slowly as she approached. Steve felt sweat rolling down the back of his neck, and could feel the anxiety in the air as he awaited eagerly to hear what the nurse had to say. Once again, she spoke softly.

"Well, Mr. Williams certainly suffered many injuries, but he is currently alive and recovering in ICU for the time being. As for the extent of his injuries, well, the list is quite lengthy. His right shoulder was dislocated and broken, and the arm was broken in several places. His left forearm was shattered, and his left wrist was broken as well. Multiple broken fingers, and a torn rotator cuff. Severe damage was imposed on the neck, and the rear of his skull was fractured. Three broken ribs, one punctured lung, and multiple areas of internal bleeding. Additionally, Mr. Williams severely broke several vertebrae in his mid-back. However, our team of surgeons was able to repair all areas of internal bleeding, and begin reconstruction on many of his broken bones. Although the list of injuries is extensive, doctors have hope that Mr. Williams will recover to an extent."

As the list went on and on, Steve felt his gut churning. It felt as though the horrors would never end, as though the pain that his friend was suffering was too unreal to be true. In that moment Steve wished with all his heart that he could take it all away from Danny, bear that pain for him, take all of that hurt and suffering. He was also sure that Kono and Chin felt the same about their partner. The verbiage that the nurse used, however, did not slip past Steve and his agony.

"You said broken vertebrae. Severely? What does that mean, and don't bother sugar coating it this time. Recover to an extent? Does that mean what I think it means?" Steve spat at her, more maliciously than he meant to. Of course, he shouldn't shoot the messenger, but he couldn't help himself when his heart was racing at such a speed it seemed on the verge of giving out. The nurse dropped her false smile finally, and allowed Steve to take a deeper glance in to her wide eyes. They were filled with sorrow and remorse, making Steve's stomach leap and churn again. When the nurse spoke again, it seemed as though she was even softer than before, if it was possible.

"I'm afraid, sir, that Mr. Williams has become paralyzed from the area of the break down, and will not be able to walk again. The motion in his right arm and most of his fingers will also likely not be regained in full, even in the case of a good recovery. I'm very sorry, sir."


	8. Chapter 8

"I demand that you take me to see detective Williams! Now!" Steve screamed, pushing past the nurse, back out into the hall. It was as though his mind hadn't registered the painful news, driving him into a delirious disaster, leading him to stumble across the linoleum in search for the ICU. Chin and Kono followed, grabbing his arms, trying to slow his lumbering and angry path down the hallway.

"Steve, calm down. She'll take us to see him. I promise, brah. You just need to calm down a little. Come on. Back to the waiting room."

The still calm voice of the older Hawaiian came in his ear like the voice to his conscious, the angel on his shoulder. It was still dim and foggy coming through to him in this agonizing haze, but he could still distinguish Chin's words. It was enough to make him pause for a moment and look back at the friends who had taken to lightly restraining him. Looking through the tears he could finally see their faces, almost mirrors of his own, a reflection of pain and concern.

"We want him to be okay just as much as you do, Steve. This isn't hard news for only you" Chin prodded gently, nodding his head back towards the waiting room. His feet like lead, Steve could do nothing except comply, sluggishly making his way back towards the waiting room that he had spent the last eternity in.

Kono sat next to Steve and put a gentle hand on his shoulder, looking up to the nurse. Steve was still too weak to speak back, too far in denial already to even acknowledge the woman who had delivered the bad news.

"Will we be able to see him soon?" She asked the nurse. The woman nodded.

"Yes, but not quite yet. They've moved him out of surgery, but there's still some casts to be completed before he can see any visitors. That may take a little bit yet, but I promise you'll be able to see him as soon as possible, although it will only be for a few minutes. Unless you wanted to pull that badge on us, and you could stay for a bit longer. I assume that is what you want, sir. I will inform you of his situation later, but for now, I have other families and patients to attend to. I shall see you as soon as I can with updated information."

Steve nodded as politely as he could after his outburst, and sunk dejectedly into the nearest chair as the nurse walked out without so much as another word. Chin and Kono's hands were back on his shoulders, Kono's rubbing soothingly.

"It's alright boss; we can play the waiting game a bit longer, right?" Steve shook his head at this, focusing back on the floor.

"No, that's not enough. Danny wouldn't want me to be like this. That's not what he would want. What would he want right now?"

Chin responded this time, shrugging, although Steve couldn't see it.

"I don't know, that's your area of expertise, buddy. Think about it, think about what happened. If Danny was up and talking, what would he want right now?"

The calm voice of the Hawaiian man took Steve instantly back to hours earlier. Danny's body falling, falling, falling down and down…

And then there was the girl he held. Her light blue shirt nearly blending in with Danny's usual work attire, torn shorts, crying as she rolled off his broken body at the base of the apartment. The tears running down her face and the loud wailing, the one that had intended to die, the one that was SUPPOSED to die, not Danny. That one little girl that Danny had nearly given his life for. If Danny was capable of speaking, and when he would be shortly, that would be his first point of interest. Without hesitation, he sat up straight and looked at Chin and Kono.

"The girl. The one that made him fall, the one that jumped. She's here, and that's what Danny would want. To find out if someone did something to her, or how hurt she was. But, I… I can't do that. What if there's news on Danny? His condition? I can't miss that."

"Not a problem, brah." Chin responded without missing a beat. "Cuz and I will head out to see if she's alright, and what her problems are. I know that as soon as you have news on Danny, you'll call us, right? Now Kono and I will go check that out, and you can stay here. I know the nurse gave us some tough news, but Danny will have to get that news when he wakes up, and you might not be Dr. Bedside Manner, but I know you can be there for him. We can work the case side of this while you're supportive for Danny. Sound alright?"

Steve nodded in response to the rather simple and sensible solution. His friends patted his shoulder one last time before walking out with the promise to call him in a bit. Steve was then left alone with the chipping paint and plastic chairs, and all the sensations that come with being in a hospital. And with that, Steve closed his eyes, and began to send desperate prayers to above, hoping that they would pass by the fluorescent lights and that some god might hear them.

A/N: Oh my god, thank you for all of the astounding support I've gotten on this story! I feel so popular and loved, thank you so much! I promise you'll get some 'broken' Danny in the next chapter, and some manly eye sweat ;) It will also be a little longer (if fate permits). Thank you again!


	9. Chapter 9

After what could have been years of waiting, a nurse had come and taken Steve to a dimly lit room that held a single man inside. Danny had been so small among that mass of machines, their never-ending wails harsh on his ears. There was so much white, so much red, all at the same time. It was as though it was a scene out of a bad movie, some hilarious, overdone comedy. The bandages wrapped around his face, the back of his head, over every inch of his arms and his legs. His neck was in a brace, and a nasal cannula pumped oxygen softly into the broken detective's nose.

The nurse had warned him it would yet be some time before the blond haired man would wake. Steve had nodded patiently, flashing his badge to let her know that he was staying the night. Danny's similar badge shone on the small table beside the bed, almost hidden amongst the wires and machines, lying still in a tray of his personal possessions. Steve still sat patiently, staring at Danny, listening to the rasp of machines, hunting for a flicker beneath the pale eyelids.

And he saw that flicker once or twice in the night as he fought to keep his own eyelids open. Danny's eyes would open halfway for a brief moment, enough to make Steve sit up straight in his seat and cling on to the flame of hope. Yet the detective's eyes would shut slowly within the next heartbeat, without so much as a breath of recognition. And so it continued this way, Chin coming in once to pass him a coffee without so much as a word.

The bitter black liquid washed down Steve's throat for the next ten hours, some distraction from the noise of life-sustaining machines that had become knives on his ears. The coffee was keeping him awake, but his whole body cried from the pain of a long day, cramping his massive form in a small, weak chair, and the internal aching he had suffered as well. Yet Steve soldiered on through his personal trial, waiting and sitting for his friend to return to the world of the waking.

Just as Steve swore his eyes were going to close no matter how much he fought it, Danny's eyes flickered again. As he had each time in the past day, Steve perked up, back straight, eyes peeled wide. And for a moment he expected Danny to slip back into sleep as he had each of the previous time. Yet something was different. Another flicker, the eyes pulling wider, edges of the mouth pulling and a small groan escaping. Steve leaned forward eagerly, pulling himself close to the edge of the bed and placing a hand on Danny's, gently as he could amongst the finger splints.

It took Danny almost a full moment before his eyes turned side to side, and he caught Steve's gaze and held it. Steve couldn't help but give a bright smile, so glad that he was seeing those stupid blue eyes again, as pain filled as they might be. The SEAL could tell by the way Danny was straining his throat that he was yearning to speak, but Steve shushed him, as painful as it was to want to hear the man's voice so much. Instead, Steve pressed the nurse call button, and allowed the hospital-woman to come in and attend to Danny's machine, to the IV he had inserted into the back of his hand, and to water that sat in a small plastic cup, easing a straw into his lips and letting him drink.

As soon as that small flurry of activity was over, Danny looked at Steve and held that gaze again. Steve couldn't help himself but speak now, more than a soothing word or two.

"Hey there, Danny. I'm glad to see that you're up."

"Yeah, me too" the Jersey native replied with a tight lipped smile, before wincing. "I know they must have me on some painkillers, but god, my head hurts. I… I saved her, right? Is she okay?"

Steve nodded, knowing that no news was good news. And part of his heart swelled in pride knowing that he had so accurately guessed what Danny's wishes would be. That allowed the detective to sigh as deeply as he could with such severe chest wounds, before he let out a soft groan of pain.

"You did good, Danno." Steve said with a smile. "You saved her, and you turned out alright too. It's a miracle."

"Ha" Danny spat bitterly, as well as he could with so many restrictions. "I would say that 'alright' is a relative statement. I guess I fell something like headfirst, right? My head, my arms, by back, god and my lungs. I must have broken literally everything, right? Except my legs feel alright, actually, can't really feel those all too well. But that means that they're fine, which is good, I guess."

Steve's beating heart dropped into his stomach like a rock, and his throat closed upon the deafening realization. He would have to break the news to Danny, right here, right now. His partner would not appreciate Steve hiding anything from him. Swallowing deeply, Steve took Danny's hand in his, still avoiding the splints. Looking the detective in the eyes, as painful as it was for him, Steve spoke the words as softly as he could, forcing them from his mouth.

"Danny I'm… I'm sorry that I have to tell you this, but the doctor gave me some news. When you fell, you broke your back and a bunch of vertebrae in your spine. You're paralyzed, Danny."

There was a moment of utter silence, but it was broken by Danny smiling and giving a small laugh that sounded extremely raspy.

"Hate to break it to you, Steve, but I'm not in the mood for jokes" Danny spoke, hand tensing slightly under Steve's gentle grip. The dark haired man felt his eyes burn as he tried to catch Danny's eyes once again, which had since wandered to look down at his own battered body. Trying to hide his pain and remorse, Steve reinforced the information he had just spoken.

"I wish it was a joke, Danny. But I wouldn't joke about something like that. You don't need to worry, though. I'll help you through this, alright? It'll all be okay."

"No." Danny repeated firmly, as loud as he could, a rueful chuckle wedging itself between his words. "It's not okay. This had better be one of your sick jokes, McGarrett, because I cannot be paralyzed. I'm a cop, Steve. I'm a father. Not being able to walk is not an option."

A beeping in the background had increased in tempo, the beeping of the heart monitor jumping as Danny spoke, causing Steve to look at it in alarm. The detective's heartbeat had spiked dangerously in the past few seconds, and it was obvious that Danny was starting to squirm. Steve squeezed down gently on Danny's hand, trying to catch his attention through Danny's rising panic.

"Hey, hey, calm down, alright? Whatever happens, we're in it together. You'll never stop being a cop. You're part of Five-0, and that will never change. You'll always be Grace's father, and you'll always be ohana to me and the rest of the team. Whatever challenges this makes, we'll get over them."

The burning in his eyes had become uncontrollable as Danny's face seemed to melt, lips turning downwards and eyes squinting tightly, and it was all Steve could do not to wipe his own tears away. And that's how they sat, the wounded man sobbing gently, and Steve pretending as though he wasn't feeling the pain that hung so plainly in that miserable room.

A/N: More Danny and Steve next chapter, I promise! I hope I did an alright job here :) Thank you so much for all the reviews and support on this story! I appreciate it more than you guys could ever imagine :)


	10. Chapter 10

Taking a break from Danny's still quiet crying, Steve took out his phone and called Chin and Kono to let them know that their friend was awake. Yet by the time Steve had informed them and hung up the phone, Danny had dozed off again, a tear still wet on his face.

It was agonizing to look down at his partner, now resting, wrapped in a cocoon of plaster and cotton. That mechanical whir was back. No soft tone from Danny's mouth, not so much as a whimper. Just beeping and clicking and droning on from the machines that seemed to line the wall.

Steve couldn't imagine how hard Danny's small body was fighting inside. All of the broken bones, the torn flesh, the damaged nerves, each cell of Danny's body fighting to repair the damage that such a fall had inflicted upon it. There was one thing that Steve thanked god for, despite all of this. It was that although Danny may have lost his ability to walk, he seemed to be retaining his mental functions thus far. That short, blond haired body, that's all it was. It was just a body. The Danny that Steve knew and loved was cradled in Danny's currently fractured skull. As long as that remained as it was, Steve could only pray for Danny's physical well being.

Chin and Kono arrived at the hospital an hour later, a bag of take out in their hands. Chin smiled at Steve, standing like a sentinel over Danny's sleeping body, and offered the bag out to him.

"Take it, brah. You've been here all night, and I know you haven't slept. We have some details on the case, but we can always discuss that later. Did you tell him the news yet?"

Steve took the bag, which emitted warmth and the smell of his favourite Chinese takeout. As much as he wanted to smile at the sweet gesture, his mouth drew tight at the mention of Danny's condition. Drawing the strength to answer from deep within himself, Steve replied to the tensely waiting pair.

"Yeah, I did, and he took it well for someone who just brushed with death. Someone who should damn well be dead, and is being told that he'll never walk again. So I guess he's doing well."

"Key words being not quite dead yet" a weak voice piped up from the background, which made everyone's heads swivel towards the bed. There Danny still lay, but with his eyes partially opened to take in the sight of his team standing over him. Silence fell, but Danny broke it with another soft rasp.

"Don't stand there gaping, I know I must not be a pretty sight, but this is all you'll get to see for a while. I appreciate the sentiment for whatever is left of my life, I really do. But I guess I can worry about that later, right? Just should be glad that I'm alive. Damaged goods, but alive."

Then silence again. It was obvious that everyone in the room was uncomfortable with the statement, and pained by it. Yet at the same time, no one had any words to say. Danny was hardly able to move, yet it was obvious how he still had fire churning in his gut. Steve knew that the way his partner must be feeling was unbearable, but there was nothing he could do about it. Time was the best medicine for now, time would do more healing than any empty words. But those empty words were all Steve had to offer at the moment.

"Don't say that, Danny. You'll be just fine."

Empty. Empty and plain. Not enough substance to even echo in the room, much less make Danny do any more than blink. Kono's face tensed, while Chin remained as stoic as ever, only averting his eyes to the ground. Danny sighed again, and closed his eyes.

"I know there's not much to say. Nothing, really. It's not your fault. Words can't fix me. You guys can't fix me. But thanks for being here."

"Don't say that" Chin practically hissed, uncharacteristically. It took all eyes in the room to him, even Danny's. Although his cheeks grew red at the attention on him, Chin continued in the tone that was so unfamiliar to his lips, and everyone else's ears.

"Danny, we will always be here for you. You're ohana. I know you're sick, I know you're hurting. I know you're scared. We've all been scared before. We know that you're in pain. We've all been in pain before. And I know you think you're alone, but you aren't. This is only the first day. We have a long ways to go. I'm not going to say it won't be easy because although I'm many things, I'm not a liar. You can't even move your damn head, Danny. Just calm that Jersey fire and let us be there for you. Just let us in, okay?"

Chin's powerful words were enough to make Steve bite down on his lip in an attempt to calm himself. Hearing the Hawaiian man speak like that, as he so rarely did, caused something to move inside of him. It was obvious that from the continued silence in the room that he wasn't the only one undergoing continued emotional strain. In fact, when he trained his eyes back on Danny, it was obvious that he was crying.

"Hey, it's alright" Steve soothed as he touched the back of Danny's hand, hearing Danny's soft whimpers as he tried to choke back tears. Crying was something that Steve had never dealt well with. Not the tears of his sister over the phone when he had to tell her that their father was dead. Not his own tears as he collapsed on the floor in pain on more than one occasion. But not now, especially not now, in this static hospital room. Not the tears of his friend.

"Thanks for that, guys" Danny sobbed out softly, taking a moment to draw breaths as deep as he could with such severe damage to his ribs. It took a minute, but the tears had seemed to draw themselves from his eyes, and the pain from his lips. When Danny spoke again, his voice was stronger.

"Now what have we told my daughter about this, huh? I haven't exactly explained to her that kids just a bit older than her launch themselves off buildings, nor do I have the strength to tell her that Danno might not be able to walk her down the aisle one day. I don't want her to see me like this, but I know she'll want to. I at least want uncle Steve to be here for that, alright?"

Steve nodded solemnly, and made a mental note to walk through in his head what he would say to Grace. But before he had the change to say anything else, Danny spoke once more.

"Now that we have all that gooey shit out of the way, and I know you guys care for me and all, why don't we get a doctor in here and talk out what's going on in this skin-suit of mine? I want to be out of here and back home as soon as possible. I want to know how to do that."

Steve permitted himself a slight smile. This was the Danny he knew and loved. Maybe there was in fact a hope for somewhat of a full recovery.


	11. Chapter 11

The next few days were painful, as well as quiet. Steve hardly left the hospital, yet Danny was hardly conscious. The sleeping detective was usually silent, machines still humming in the room, feeding a direct line of painkillers into his blood. And Steve was sure that Danny was in more than enough pain.

The white casts were so bright, nearly blending into the hospital bed, and the light blue hospital gown that Danny donned. Although the doctor had delivered the same brutal news that Steve had, Danny had hardly said another word about the subject. No more self-depreciating remarks, no more sorrowful cracks on the subject, not another word on paralysis. Yet sometimes in his moments of consciousness, Steve sometimes saw Danny straining between words, and glancing at the casts on his legs. Something inside of Steve knew that Danny was using all of his willpower to strain, willing even the slightest twitch of his toes.

The only thing that brought an upturned edge to the sorrow on Danny's face was when his daughter came to visit him, which had only been twice so far. It was heartbreaking for the blonde detective, Steve knew, to see his little girl so busy. Grace hadn't wept, and hadn't asked about Danny's condition. She was more than well informed on the situation, and Steve was glad that she was using her discretion around her father. She was already quite grown up for a girl of her age, and Steve had immense respect for her self-control.

It was dusk again, and Steve swore that his back was on the verge of breaking from such discomfort in the plastic hospital chairs. Danny had been half awake, but his body was rendered immobile still. Bones took weeks to heal, and Danny was in more than enough discomfort being forced to sit idle. Weakly opening his lips, Danny rasped out a few words to Steve.

"Why don't you talk more, huh? It's been a few days and all you do is sit there, all pensive. Plus you've gone through enough coffee to provide for a small nation."

Steve smirked at this, but Danny was right. He was surviving solely on coffee at this point, his eyelids dropping as steadily as the sun. Healing was slow, healing was grueling. Healing required patience, something that Steve had little to none of on a good day. These past few days had not been good days, and the wear was working its way into his mind.

"Don't worry, princess, I'm not going anywhere, and I know you're not either. Looks like we're stuck, doesn't it? But let me tell you, partner, it would make me feel better if you got some shut eye. It's a little creepy of you to be up like this, watching me every night. It reminds me of those books that were all the craze a few years ago, that Twilight shit. I might as well start calling you Edward, if you keep watching me all night and day like I'm sleeping beauty or something" Danny scoffed, a feeble smirk coming over his face.

Steve smiled, but realized that he had no good answer. He knew it was less than productive to sit there all day, just watching, letting Danny waver between sleeping and stewing in misery. There were better things to do, and he damn well knew it. There was an extension right off the hospital, one that Steve knew he should have visited already. It had only been days since the incident, and there was still a girl with broken bones healing just a few floors away.

Of course, the mental health facility was a fluid part of the hospital, but Steve had never been to that sector. Danny would want to visit the girl he almost died for, sooner or later. Part of Steve had a burning desire to see her as well, figure out what exactly led to this tragic incident, one that almost cost him his partner. The other part wanted to keep himself out of the mess, out of the disaster, away from the sensitive subject of suicide.

It would continue to be an endless loop of pain, confusion, and guilt, as long as Steve pushed it out of the way. There was a reason that little girl jumped, and that reason hadn't yet been brought to light. The more he thought of it, the worse Steve felt, almost as though he hadn't been doing his duty as an officer of the law and carrying out the extent of his duties. Suicide wasn't exactly a crime, but his partner more than deserved to have some form of closure to the entire incident, one that wouldn't ever truly be over as long as they both lived. Although regret tainted his decision, Steve knew then that it was made up in his mind. He was going to see that girl, the very next day, and find out exactly what caused this whole tragedy.

"Hey, Steve?" Danny called out weakly, and Steve snapped his attention back to his friend. He realized then that he had long since been staring blankly at the wall, no real focus in his gaze. "Whatcha thinking about, buddy?" Danny prompted, blinking slowly. Steve just shrugged.

"Not much. Just about you and about that girl, if you want me to be honest. I want to get to the bottom of this all. Is there anything you can remember that can help me out with her? I want to do everything I can to give you some closure, and her as well. I know that's what you would want. I know that you're obviously not feeling great, and I know you said you don't remember too much about what happened before the fall, but is there anything, anything at all in your mind, that stands out to you?"

Silence. Danny didn't even blink this time, just focused his eyes at a dark point on the wall, gaze going cloudy and blank. What felt like a full minute passed before Danny let out a shaky sigh, obviously painful by the wrinkles that appeared on his face. However, the response wasn't comforting.

"Nothing, Steve. I appreciate you doing that for me. God I wish I could, I just want to make sure she's okay, but I can't really do that right now, can I? But I swear, if I remember anything, I'll let you know. I know she was talking to me, saying something, but I can't remember any of the words. But I swear, if I remember anything at all, I'll let you know."

The pair fell silent again, and Danny shut his eyes slowly, not opening them again. His lips moved slightly, and Steve had to lean close to catch the soft words.

"I'm goin' t' sleep now, can't help it. You get some sleep too, 'kay princess? Great."

And with that, Danny stilled more than he was already still, and Steve sighed, putting his elbows on his knees and head in his hands. It was going to be a very long night.


	12. Chapter 12

With a heavy sigh, Steve downed another mouthful of bitter black coffee, striding away from the check in desk to the mental health facility of the hospital. It was going to be another long and hard day, plagued with questions and answers that Steve had never wanted to ask or hear.

Her name was Christina Buchanan, seventeen years old, just finished her Junior year of high school. She had suffered two fractured ribs and a broken leg, as well as a mild concussion, and a few other hairline fractures throughout her body. It was apparent that Danny's body had done a more than adequate job of absorbing most of the impact from how little damage she had suffered.

Of course, Steve knew he must talk to the parents before he spoke to the girl, and thankfully the nurse at the check in desk informed him that they had checked in just half an hour ago. Now, Steve walked slowly down the white hall, ignoring the cries of pain that came from behind closed doors, and the deafening silence that came from behind others. Although it looked just like the other branch of the hospital, Steve couldn't help but remember with every breath he took that it was different, so very different. It caused him a degree of discomfort that he couldn't quite put into words, and honestly, wasn't sure that he wanted to.

Biting down on the inside of his cheek, Steve stopped in front of the door that he had been directed to, and knocked on it softly. After pausing just a second, he cracked it open and peered in. Two faces looked at him from chairs beside a bed, while the figure that lay in the bed didn't move at the intrusion. Steve led by putting a hand on his badge, then slipped into the room, closing the door gently behind him.

After a few more seconds of observation, Steve saw that the girl was sleeping, her eyes shut and rings of curls lay around her pale face. Steve swallowed, trying to ignore the casts that showed beneath the thin sheets, and directed his attention back to the parents, who had a mask of concern over their faces.

"Steve McGarrett, Five-O" he explained quietly, trying to avoid disturbing Christina as she slept. Neither the man nor the woman said a word, but both grasped the other's hand, seeking a source of comfort as they were faced with yet another trial in this already trying week. Steve opened his mouth, the full intention of having a more collected explanation put out to the grieving couple, but it was as though the words lodged themselves in his throat and refused to break free. Eventually, after a rather embarrassing stutter, Steve continued in as professional a manner as he could uphold.

"Sir, ma'am, I'm here to carry out a part of a Five-O investigation. I know that this has been a very difficult week for you, but I have to ask your daughter some questions, or if you could answer them for me, I could spare her the trouble. It's just, we need to know if anything criminal led to your daughter's actions, which almost cost two lives. If there is, we can persecute any offenders to the fullest extent of the law." Although he thought his voice solid and sure, Steve couldn't help but wince back when the mother began to tear up. It was obvious that she was less than willing to speak, or couldn't, her heart too torn with emotion. The father only held the woman's hand tighter, and looked up at Steve with a bitter stare.

"She hasn't told us anything about why. Sir, I hope you understand, we're just happy that we still have our daughter alive. I know that she almost cost an officer his life, but that doesn't mean that there's anything criminal about this. She didn't want to hurt anyone else. Now she might not tell us anything, but she told us that she will talk to the cop that fell with her. So maybe I'll say more, or she'll say more, when that time comes around. But for now, please, let us have some time with our daughter. You can come back some other time, if you have some more information about the officer that fell, or any true reason to disturb us further, okay? I'm sorry, but this is more of a private issue."

There was the slightest tone of hostility in the father's voice, but Steve could hear the true underlying emotion- pain. Steve, however, could do nothing but respect the family's wishes. With a brief nod of his head, Steve turned and prepared to walk from the room. Yet a weak voice came that stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait."

Steve turned around, and looked towards the bed, where Christina now struggled to sit up, her eyes wide open. Her mother and father were at her side, hands on her arms, trying to soothe her. But Steve saw that the teen was having none of it, her eyes still fixated on him.

"Do you know the man who saved me? Do you know him? I need to talk to him. I need to. I heard he's hurt. Is he hurt? I need to talk to him" she pleaded softly, in a tone Steve was all too familiar with. It was the same weak and wounded rasp, the one that Danny had been using exclusively since he woke up. Steve sighed, and looked at the ground before looking back at Christina, his lips a tight line.

"Yes, Christina, I do know that man. He's my partner, his name is Danny Williams. He's very injured at the moment, and I don't think he's ready to see anyone quite yet. But he does want to see you as soon as he has the chance, okay? How you're feeling right now means a lot to him. Is there anything you want me to tell him? Or anything that you need to tell me about what happened?" Christina shook her head, quite obviously tearing up, but she pushed her mother away as the woman tried to stroke her hair.

"Just that I'm sorry. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I'm so sorry" Christina choked out, her words ending in a sob. Steve nodded, and turned away again, allowing the girl's parents to hover over her and cover her in affection as they so desired. Without another word, Steve walked out the door, and set himself on a path back towards Danny's room.

**Thank you so much for the continued support on this story! I hope that I'm continuing to please with each chapter. Feel free to tell me what you want to see more or less of! All critique is welcome on my writing. Thanks again!**


	13. Chapter 13

Steve retreated from the hospital after only an hour of watching Danny rest. The hum of the machines was getting to be too much for his mind, all of that static competing with even more static was a recipe for disaster. In all honesty, Steve was beginning to feel like more and more of a disaster with each day that passed.

That led him to the quiet drive to the office, down the winding roads that he was all too accustomed to. Familiar streets, familiar roads, hell, even the trees were familiar at this point. Suddenly, Steve found that he was far too hot, and fumbled for the air conditioning with his right hand. He tried once, then twice, to turn up the fan, but found his hand hitting empty space.

It felt as though a stone dropped in his stomach when Steve realized he had reached for the controls as though he were in Danny's car. It was strange, actually, to be driving his own vehicle for once. He took the turns a little more rough, the stops were a little more sudden, and the feel of the wheel in his hands wasn't quite right. When his mind was on work, it was only natural to be in Danny's care, talking to Danny, arguing over anything, almost everything sometimes.

Steve came to the realization then that he would be the only one driving Danny's car from here on out. How was someone who couldn't use their legs expected to drive? At least, not in a car like Danny had. The weight of the changes that were to come hadn't totally settled on Steve, but he was starting to get a taste of the pain that would fill the days, months, and years to come.

The rest of the drive to the office was done in silence. Steve felt that he was forced to slam the radio off as soon as the thoughts started coming in. he needed silence, he needed solace, he needed solitude. The last thing that he needed was any more noise to cloud his mind.

He saw the other familiar sight of Chin and Kono's vehicles in their normal spots, which brought Steve a ray of warmth amongst the turbulent emotions he was experiencing. Leaving the car, he walked slowly up to his office, greeting each familiar face he saw on the way up.

For the first time in what must have been a week he swung the glass doors open, staring forward at Kono (bent over the table, fingers tapping away on the glass screen) and Chin (trying to unjam the copying machine) with a blank face. They both turned to look at him as soon as his foot crossed the threshold, however silent he thought his footsteps may have been.

Kono immediately smiled, and she ran forward to embrace Steve, arms wrapping around him gently. Steve returned the embrace, and looked down into her eyes with a weak smile.

"Nice to see you here, boss" she said gently, before breaking the embrace. Chin was walking up slowly behind her, his usual emotionless visage as comforting as always.

"What she said, brah. It's quiet here without you. Any news on Danny or the girl?"

Steve shrugged, walking past the cousins and over to look at the screens, trying to get an idea of what the two had been working on. Instead of the usual faces of suspects, Steve was met with images of crutches and wheelchairs on one side of the room, and a growing list of names, each tailed with a couple of medical certifications. Suddenly Steve felt dizzy, as the reality of what had come to pass hit him once again. Kono hurried over, and while Steve was still staring, she shut the windows out with a few touches of her fingers.

"Sorry boss, Chin and I were just thinking ahead. You have a more important job; Danny's recovery. Don't worry about this yet. We're going to make sure that we get him the best physical therapy and musculoskeletal doctors on the island. But we can work that out, alright? You make sure that Danny's feeling as good as he can right now, and if you come up with any useful leads on that girl, if there are any criminal ones, we'll get on it right away."

Once again, Steve found himself at a loss for words. It was always Danny that filled the empty spaces, whether it was with a valuable comment or something stupid, but the office was never left with a moment like this. A moment of nothing but empty, meaningless silence that was so potent it threatened to render Steve speechless longer than he intended.

Instead of filling the space with meaningless words, Steve retreated to his office, leaving Chin and Kono in the main room while he sat down at his computer chair, turning it on and flicking open his email, looking at the amount of responsibilities that he had been neglecting, and how they had accumulated after only a couple of days. With a heavy groan, he set his fingers on the keyboard and started clicking away, searching through a crowded mind for any excuses as to why he had been neglecting his duties for a week now.

**Thanks for reading! If you would like to see anything included, changed, or altered, please feel free to let me know! Thank you to everyone who has been reviewed, liked, and subscribed to alerts for this story! You guys are the ones who keep me going :) Another chapter will be coming soon!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Steve, I want you to do me a favor" Danny rasped, prompting Steve to bring the water to Danny's lips, ensuring the detective found the straw and took a decent drink before pulling it away. Only then did Steve address the detective.

"Yeah, anything" Steve murmured, hoping that maybe Danny would be able to give him something to do, something useful, something that would make him something more than a sentinel stationed at the side of a hospital bed, about as useful as a stone.

"It's kinda weird Steve, are you sure you don't mind?"

"Anything, Danny."

"Alright Steve could you… Like, pinch my toes or something? Please, I want to see if I can at least feel something. I know they're supposed to be broken, but maybe, if you move them, I'll feel something. Please Steve, I can't reach down there quite yet, can you just give it a try for me? Please?" Danny begged, his voice weak and filled with misery. Steve sighed, and put a hand on Danny's, looking away from his friend's pleading eyes.

"Listen, Danny, I don't think I can do that for you. If you can't feel anything now, I don't think I can do anything to help. I'll work on getting you the best care that this island has to offer, but I don't think that tickling your toes while you're all laid up in bed like this is going to make you feel any better. I know it's hard-"

"No, you don't know" Danny spit weakly, making a turn of character as he cut Steve off. Steve felt Danny's hand twitch under his, and instinctively pulled away, knowing that Danny would have done the same if he had been capable. Danny grunted before continuing, closing his eyes in an attempt to hide a growing dampness that Steve had been politely ignoring.

"You don't understand, Steve, because you still have a future. You didn't have it stolen away from you because you tried to do something right. You don't have a daughter to worry about. You don't have a daughter that you'll never be able to lift up onto your shoulders again. You don't have what I have Steve, so you don't understand" Danny finished bitterly.

Steve was so taken aback that he leaned back in his chair, hardly able to look at Danny, his mind reeling with what his partner had said. Although Danny was so far from his usual self lately, and had made some very off-character statements, Steve hadn't heard something so hostile. Yes, there had been the fair share of self-depreciation, but hardly a hostile attack.

Trying desperately to pull the shock off of his face, Steve cast his eyes to the ground, oblivious to the fact that Danny was crying again, tears rolling down his face slowly, unable to move his body to hide the fact that he was displaying his emotions more openly than he had in years.

The pair was interrupted in their mutual, silent suffering, by the soft sound of someone clearing their throat. Steve perked up immediately, and looked towards the source of the noise, to see the very last person he expected to see, sitting in a wheelchair with a woman at her side.

"Christina?" Steve questioned, able to recognize the girl he had spoken to just yesterday by the curls that surrounded her head, and the bleak look of despair across the face he had only seen twice before. Of course, he was also able to recognize the mother, who stood beside the wheelchair, concern crossing her face.

"Ch-Christina?" Danny stuttered, unable to move his head to look at her, although Steve could see his eyes strain to the side. Steve had told him about the girl earlier that day, and all of the information he had available. Steve hadn't thought that she would come by so soon, so soon after yesterday's confrontation with her parents. But that didn't change the fact that she was indeed here now, beside Danny's hospital bed, a look of shock coming over her face.

Christina didn't even have a chance to speak before she brought a hand to her mouth, choking out a sob into the palm of her hand. The mother quickly wrapped an arm around her daughter at the emotional reaction, although Christina tried to pull away where she sat.

"I did this to him?" She cried out, lowering her hand, face contorted in an expression of pain. Steve lowered his eyes again, mouth parting in exasperation. He took in a deep breath, looking up at Danny, who was still straining to see her.

"No, no, not at all" Danny said after a few moments, the strength in his voice surprising Steve. However, he saw the strain on his partner's face, and knew that it was taking all of Danny's strength to appear strong for this girl. Christina started crying violently, and it was obvious that her mother was ready to pull her away, take her already wounded daughter away from a source of more pain. Steve decided to step in, knowing that there wasn't much Danny could do at the moment.

"Christina, please don't worry, he'll be just fine, okay? This isn't your fault, just like Danny said. You don't have to go, he really would love to talk to you, isn't that right Danny?" Steve prompted hurriedly, trying his best to rectify the situation, do something to ease the girl's emotions. Danny piped up once again, and Steve prayed that Christina couldn't notice the change of tone, a noticeably weaker pitch.

"Yeah, I'd love to talk to you. I heard you might come around sometime, and I'd be more than happy to chat with you whenever you want. Even now, if you don't mind my big ape of a partner sitting in. I'm glad to see you're doing okay" he tacked on the end, before his voice finished trailing off. Steve looked over to Christina, whose mother wasn't pulling her away any longer. In fact, she had been pushed closer to the bed, and her hands had taken to wiping moisture away from her eyes.

"You, you look really tired right now" Christina said, her voice wavering with pain. When Steve looked at her he felt pity, her watering eyes something that made him squirm in discomfort. Deep emotions had never been his forte. But Christina continued, looking up to her mother for support.

"Since you probably need your rest, I, I guess I'll come over another time. Alright?" She finished, wiping yet another tear away from her eyes. Danny cracked a small smile (although Steve thought it may have been more of a grimace) and replied, voice softer yet.

"That sounds good to me. I hope you feel even better soon, thanks for coming to see me." And Christina didn't say another word, only nodded, and looked towards the exit to the room. Her mother must have picked up the clue, for she maneuvered Christina's wheelchair around, and started moving towards the door. However, as Steve watched, the woman turned over her shoulder and mouthed a silent "thank you" before they left.

And Danny closed his eyes, and Steve pretended not to see the moisture falling from his eyes. Instead Steve focused on the hostile, violent anger he found growing in his stomach. There was no need for Danny to be paralyzed, no need for the girl to have almost died. There was no need for Danny's future to be destroyed as it was. It was all so pointless.

Somewhere deep inside, Steve tried to squelch the flame of resentment he found growing for Christina. There was no reason for any of this, and Danny had almost died just for a girl who couldn't handle her emotions. The bitter anger flowed through him as hot as fire, and for a moment Steve felt his vision grow red.

How could he have this anger for a young, innocent soul? How could he have anger for a wounded girl? He didn't know, and he didn't care at that moment. He just needed to get out, away from the drama, the pain, and the suffering that one nearly fatal afternoon had caused. Without another word, Steve stormed from the room, aiming for somewhere outside so that he could clear his head.

**Thank you so very much for reading this story! I appreciate every review, like, and alert on this story! I also like feedback, but hey, your time reading is totally enough for me! The views I get on this story is insane! Thanks again!**


	15. Chapter 15

Danny sat alone, wishing that he was anything but alone. The pain that each breath took, he hadn't admitted it to Steve. Every single word, every single breath, all of it sent waves of pain rolling through the upper half of his body. Something else he wouldn't tell Steve- right now, he was glad that he couldn't feel his legs. The pain right now was almost too much to handle- coupled with the mangled mess that lay beneath the blankets, Danny was convinced additional pain would finish him.

Of course, there were the drugs flowing through his veins. Danny knew that it had to at least have dulled the pain slightly, but he still craved more. Yet there was nothing he could do, as damaged as he was. Watching Steve storm out like he did was almost too much to handle, as was seeing the face of the girl he thought he was never going to see again.

Actually, while he was falling, he thought it was going to be the last face he ever saw. Now, that's not to say Danny particularly wished he was alive at the moment. The beeping of the machines, the pain, the bleak outlook on his future was all just too painful, too much for his mind. And at this point, hardly able to move, his mind was all he had left.

His mind was like a prison, even after only two weeks now, it was driving him crazy. There were itches that he couldn't reach, there were things he wanted to say that he just couldn't, and there was the agony of things that should be said, and just weren't. And there was Steve, always there, always watching, except when he wasn't. The anger that travelled over that man was like a dark cloud, making Danny's dark feelings only darker.

He let out a low groan, partially in pain, partially in frustration. His mind just wouldn't stop bouncing between Christina and between Steve, between two worlds of pain, all in the cage that his mind had become. Not able to control himself, Danny groaned again, feeling the ache spread across his ribs as he did so. He didn't even bother to open his eyes this time, just squeezed them more tightly shut, and tried to shorten his breaths in an attempt to ease the pain.

By his rough calculations, it would be another half hour before another nurse came in, checked on the changes in his injuries, possibly adjusted the dosage of his pain medication, and asked him how he was doing. God, one of them had only been in a few seconds ago it seemed. Yet here Danny was, longing for some relief from his mind.

It was hard to hear anything when he was focusing solely on his own world of misery, so Danny didn't notice that someone else had come into the room while he was contemplating his pain. In fact, he didn't even notice until a soft, female voice called out his name.

"Daniel?"

He opened his eyes at the call of his name, and was greeted by Rachel's face, a mask of worry defining her features. Danny groaned again, much less than thrilled to see his ex-wife, and even less thrilled that she was witnessing him in this state.

"Hey Rachel, lovely to see you" he managed to say, glad that he was able to mask his displeasure with a grimace, easily passed off as pain from his injuries (not to say there wasn't pain involved in speaking, but Danny was much more disgruntled at the moment by the appearance of that woman. Rachel sighed, and Danny assumed that she rolled her eyes, although he didn't bother to attempt to look too closely.

"Daniel, I didn't come to hear any more of your attitude. I came here to let you know that I'm helping the team foot some of the costs of your rehabilitation. Yes, I know, that's a bit off in the future, but I just don't want you to be worrying any more than you already are. As for Grace…" she trailed off, and Danny resisted the urge to thrash against the cords and monitors, the mention of his daughter (the daughter that had only been to see him twice) almost too much to bear.

"Don't get upset, Daniel, it's nothing to do with legal matters. I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to worry about her. I know that you have some weekends with her coming up, and that you'll be in here, or living with Steve, for a while into the future. If you don't want to be worrying over Grace while you're recovering, I'll be happy to take her. I'm not trying to steal her away, Danny. I just want you to get better as soon as possible" she offered up, and Danny felt even more fire tearing through his mind. Or was it just the burning of his eyes as he tried to bite back tears?

"I already had my future taken from me, go ahead, take my daughter too" he choked out bitterly, closing his eyes as he pictured running into the water with his daughter, a wonderful afternoon on the beach preserved in memory. His daughter dancing with him at the school's father-daughter dance. All of these things, Rachel had taken enough time away from him, but now she just wanted to take her. Danny knew that things would never be the same, but now it seemed like he was going to lose more than just time- he was going to lose precious moments with his Grace.

"That's not what this is about, I swear. I just want you to be better, alright? We'll figure things out. But Grace needs her father. It doesn't matter if he can walk or not. But before you can get back to being the Danno she knows and loves, you have to get better. Okay?"

Danny sniffed, hoping that Rachel didn't see that a single tear escaped down his cheek. He felt her hand on his for just a brief moment, prompting him to respond softly.

"Okay."

Rachel smiled, a faint smile that Danny was barely able to capture before Rachel turned where she stood and walked out of the room, leaving Danny alone once again. Alone with the machines, his mind, and more pain than one man could ever put into words.

**This is a serious, huge, massive thank you for the 50 reviews on this story! I never thought it would be so popular. Thanks for all of the continued support! Please, if there's anything that you want to see in this story, or anything that I should be doing that I'm not, feel free to let me know! I am extremely appreciative of every single review, favorite, and alert! Thank you!**


	16. Chapter 16

The last four days had been a blur to Danny. Since Rachel had left, Steve had come in and out, Grace had even visited once. Nurses were in and out, and gradually there were more and more pieces of equipment being removed from his bedside. The pain was easing each and every day, despite the fact that the pain medication was already dulled in effect.

In fact, Steve had been absent more than present in the past days, which was a surprise to Danny. From the never-moving watchdog, to distant entity who was silent more so than not, all in the course of a week. Part of Danny craved the affection that Steve was there to give, the brotherly love and concern, all of it was more medication on the way to recovery.

The pain was always worse when Steve was away. Even in uncomfortable, angry silence, Danny was always in less pain when Steve was there. So now, the pain was there, keeping him awake, keeping his eyes half open, keeping him closer to dead than alive.

Danny was momentarily distracted from the pain by someone entering into the room, although they were without a sound. The nurses usually announced themselves cheerily during the day. To answer his curiosity, Danny looked over as far as he could considering his injuries.

Standing at the entrance to the door was a nurse indeed, but at her side stood a girl on crutches, a girl that Danny had seen only twice before. Yet there was recognition within the second, for the eyes that stared at him now were eyes that he had engraved into the deepest recesses of his mind. It appeared that Christina was back again, accompanied by a nurse this time, instead of her parents.

It also appeared that she was finally well enough to stand without support- nothing but crutches helped keep her aloft. Her cheeks were a bit more red than they had been the last time she came in, the life returning to her body slowly but surely. Although she appeared to be much better than the last time the two had met in this room, Danny could see her eyes sparkling with fear and pain. The nurse helped her in a little further, and Danny didn't say a word, waiting for one of the two to introduce him to the situation.

It was the nurse that broke the silence in the end, easing Christina into the chair where Steve had once sat before turning to the detective, her voice sickly sweet, as were all the women that came through this place.

"Good morning, detective. Christina is almost well enough to go home now, but as part of her required in-hospital counseling, the decision was made to have her come here to talk to you. Christina won't actually talk to anyone but you, as she has stated multiple times. As per her request, I won't sit here by you, but I will be just outside the room should anything of emergency arise. Now, if anyone needs anything, just call, okay? I hope something good comes of this" she finished with a smile, before nodding one last time to Christina and exiting the room.

Danny was somewhat startled by the abrupt nature of the briefing, but he was now left no choice, a crippled man stuck to a bed with a girl at the bedside, looking at him with big brown eyes that held the concerns of the world in their depths.

"Hi" she muttered beneath her breath as soon as the nurse passed the threshold of the door, and she lowered her crutches to the floor. Danny smiled as wide as he could, heart thundering as he wondered what the girl would have to say. Everything from before they had fallen was a blur (he had a concussion to thank for that) and he truly didn't know what the girl was going to say to him. Suicide was full of horrors, and whatever it was that made this little girl want to throw herself off the top of an apartment building, Danny wasn't sure that he truly wanted to hear. Of course, the slight resistance in his mind was nothing close to what the tender-hearted detective displayed. He merely smiled again, speaking up at strongly as he could, glad that his

voice and strength was recovered enough to make him sound personable.

"Hey, Christina. How're you doing?" he asked, although he knew full well that the girl wasn't doing as well as anyone would have hoped. She shrugged, wincing and putting a hand to her side, but the grimace turned into a sarcastic grin.

"You would think by now I would remember that I have some problems with my ribs here" she muttered, as if she were angered by her own mistake, although there was a lightness that her tone carried. Danny feigned a laugh, although the false chuckle made his own ribs ache.

"Me too" he chimed in, watching the tension on her face ease away as they joked at their own misfortune. Her face sobered slightly, but Danny prayed that the light nature would carry enough to prompt her into discussing her pain.

"I'm sorry I did this to you" she blurted out, the smile dropping from her face completely. Danny blinked slowly, watching the tears rise to her eyes almost immediately, as if someone had turned on a faucet.

"No, not at all sweetie" he tried to sooth, reaching out the hand closest to her over the edge of the bed, extending it as much as his mangled body would allow. Despite the fact that she didn't take the hand, she looked down at it, and it was obvious she recognized that the small gesture was supposed to be comforting.

"I thought I was going to be alone up there. Then I just waited too long, and all the police showed up, and I didn't know what to do. I got scared and… then you came up. I just didn't want to hurt anyone else, I wanted to get it over with. But it turns out I really really hurt you, and I didn't even mean to. I thought you were far enough away before I…" she trailed off, a tear running down her cheek as she looked down at her lap. Danny felt a lump rising in his throat, but pushed down his own anguish in an attempt to keep the conversation going, in the hope that maybe he would unlock the mystery of why this little girl was hurting so much.

"You don't have to think about that now, Christina. I'm just glad that you're okay. That's my job, you know. I make sure that people are safe." It was at this time that Danny took the opportunity to prompt his own question, maybe give Steve an answer to the question that Danny knew he must be asking. "And to keep you safe, I did what any other police officer would do. But we both made it out, and that's what's important. Now, another part of keeping people safe is making sure that I get any bad guys out there doing bad things. Do you know of any bad guys that I need to stop?"

Christina sniffled, and nodded her head, but she didn't say another word. After a few moments of silence (which Danny was glad for, considering he had anticipated a lengthy conversation before getting down to the heart of the problem) the Jersey detective prompted again.

"Sweetheart, if someone has hurt you, all you have to do is tell me, and I promise that they won't ever hurt you or anyone else again. Is that why you were so upset? Did someone hurt you?"

Again, Christina nodded, her face looking to the floor. She made a small sobbing sound, before choking out a few soft words.

"It was my Uncle William. I didn't want him to. I told him to stop. Every time we went to his house he would…" she broke off there, crying again, and she finally took the hand that Danny had extended at the start of the conversation, her small fingers wrapping around the splints that covered his.

"Christina, I promise you don't have to worry about that now. I'll make sure you stay safe, okay? I'm so very glad that you told me this, so I can make sure that he doesn't hurt you or anyone else ever again, okay?"

She nodded, and gripped onto Danny's hand a little tighter, and although it was painful, he didn't truly mind.

**Thank you all so much for your support on this story! I really never thought it would be this popular, I'm serious. I appreciate every favorite, alert, and review! Any feedback is greatly appreciated, thanks again!**


	17. Chapter 17

It was sometime later that day that Steve went to the hospital, as the morning had been spent working a case that had come up in the area. Just because Danny was gone didn't mean that the flow of work was halted- there was still a stream of crime through the islands, and criminals didn't stop just because an officer was down.

The difficulty of each task was somewhat increased with Danny's absence, as Steve felt alone, almost naked, with each motion he went through. He didn't have anyone by his side, pressed to him like another part of his body, when he closed in on a house with a suspected threat. He didn't have his partner covering his back when he broke the door down, checking each room to the right, while the cousins covered the rooms to the left.

Even in the car, it was as though a piece of him was missing. Firstly, it was his own car for once, and secondly, there was no banter during the drives, something Steve was already beginning to sorely miss. He just longed for Danny to be out of the hospital. He hated spending time in that sterile, sorrow-filled place. He just wanted Danny to be back by his side, where he belonged, doing what he did best.

That was only a dream, of course, a wishful dream that wouldn't be fulfilled another day. It was something that was becoming almost too much to bear for Steve, seeing his partner as he was, sneaking over to the clipboards and reading Danny's, seeing just how bleak the situation truly was. They must have run tests when Steve was gone one day, for when he had read the papers just yesterday, it had been confirmed that Danny still had no sensation below his waist, no movement, no reaction.

He stepped into Danny's hospital room, hoping that the detective only had his eyes closed, and wasn't actually sleeping. The bedside radio was turned on softly, the canned voices saying something or another about football statistics. Danny's eyes didn't remain shut, however, as Steve sat down in that miserable plastic chair for yet another time. The detective gave a soft smile, squinting one eye in feigned frustration.

"Hey, Steve."

"Hey"

And then there was silence once again. It seemed that there was more silence between the two than conversation, as of late. Steve swallowed, trying to work up the courage to say something, anything, to the man that he called his best friend and partner. But this time, it was Danny who broke the silence. Steve grabbed for the radio right away, turning it down so that he was able to hear Danny's words in complete clarity.

"Christina came by today, we talked for a while. And I have a motherfucker that you need to go get for me, okay? I need you to find him and lock him away. You can bother getting a statement from her some other time, but you need to get this guy and put him behind bars as long as he lives. Do you understand, Steven?"

The utter malice, the coldness, this dangerous element in Danny's voice was enough to shock Steve into listening. If there was someone, someone who had caused this girl to be so damaged that she would try and do what she did, Danny and Steve would be the first to want to put him away. So Steve nodded, furrowing his brows, leaning in closer.

"First name William, the poor girl didn't tell me much else. Uncle on the mother's side, that's about all that I know. She told me some of the things he did, and god Steve, if I could walk, I would castrate that filthy pedophile myself, but I'm going to need you to do it for me. I'm just going to ask that of you, okay? And if you don't want to do it for me, then for her, okay? Do it for that little girl who was hurt enough to throw herself off a rooftop" he stuttered, obviously overcome with emotion at the mention of what had passed between him and the teen. But Steve had heard horror stories before, and although it churned his gut, he knew that he could remain composed. That wasn't what had bothered him, however. It was what Danny had said at the end. Confused, Steve leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"What are you saying, Danny? Why wouldn't I do that for you?" he questioned loudly, unable to pull his voice under control before he let his emotions take over. Danny visibly flinched back, but retorted in a voice that Steve was more accustomed to, the strong Danny, the Danny that he always went nose to nose with in the car, in the office, and on the phone.

"Listen, Steve, I get it. I get why you're not coming around anymore. You're trying to break it off with me. We can't be partners any longer. So just stop pretending that you need to be here, I know you have a job, a life to carry on with. You can't spend all your time here with me, someone who just used to be your partner. It's not worth it. I'll go off and be stuck at some desk job somewhere while you're out doing something amazing. So go catch a bad, awful man for the girl. Don't do it for me."

"Of course I'll do it for you" Steve exclaimed, standing up so violently that the chair was knocked over. "What the hell are you talking about? You're still my partner, Danny, you're still Five-O. It doesn't matter if you're busting down doors with me or not, you will always be my partner. You're like a brother to me, you know it. I don't have a life without you, do you understand?" he said forcefully, standing by Danny's bed, heart thundering. He had no idea that Danny had felt this way, and couldn't help but feel that his absence the past days had only grown the ill will.

"Keep telling yourself that, Steve. Keep telling me that when you haven't even bothered to discuss what's lying straight in front of us. Kono has! Chin has! We've all talked about this problem, this problem where I'm crippled for life, and we've talked about making it not a problem. You, you act like the silent treatment is going to make the problem just go away. And in this case, the problem is half of me now, which is basically all of me. Is making me go away what you want? Is it, Steven?" Danny spat, his voice so much stronger, so much more lethal that Steve could ever have imagined.

"Danny, I-" he started, but Danny cut him off with venom in his voice.

"Get out."

"Danny, please"

"I said, get OUT" Danny screamed, and closed his eyes, as though to make a point that he would have walked out himself, had he the capability to walk.

With burning eyes, and tears rising in his throat, Steve did just that- he walked out of that miserable room as fast as his legs could carry him, and he didn't look back.

**Thanks again for all of the tremendous support on this story! I love every single review, alert, and favorite that I get. Seriously, thanks so much!**


	18. Chapter 18

Steve walked straight out of that room, pushing his hand rough against his chin and rubbing the stubble that was beginning to poke up from the skin. He didn't stop moving once, not as he walked down the hall, not as he drove to The Palace, not as he threw open the doors to the office.

As he strode in with determined steps, anger having been pushed aside on the way there, Chin and Kono looked up. Chin quite obviously knew something was wrong from that first moment, but Kono had been too preoccupied to notice, and gave him the usual greeting that he was accustomed to.

"Hey, boss. I got some details on the cartel murders, and the partial print we ran through the database, we got a hit."

The normally enthusiastic attitude came grinding to a halt as soon as she looked at Steve's face, taken aback by the serious nature that she was presented with so suddenly. Of course, the female officer was wise enough to stop in her information deliver, and listen to what Steve had to say.

"Drop whatever you're doing, we have a case to work on. The first name is William, brother of a Madeline Buchanan. He's a rapist, and that's all you need to know. I want a location on him and you guys geared up and ready to go in twenty minutes, do you understand?" he barked out, his harsh tone utterly unforgiving as both anger and loyalty fueled him forward to find the man that started this chain of events.

Kono only swallowed, and Steve gave a curt nod as he walked away and into his office, closing the door and the blinds in a few sharp movements. Once he was certain that he was away from prying eyes, Steve collapsed into the rolling office chair, grabbing a framed photograph off his desk. Danny's smiling face, his own next to it, stared up at him from behind the glass.

"I don't care what you say, Danno. I'm doing this for you" he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers and closing his eyes, replacing the photograph without so much as another grumble. Of course, once the moment had passed, Steve got back to his feet, heart cold, eyes set dead ahead, his goal clear in his mind.

Although the bulletproof vest called Steve's name from the chair it lay on, he walked past it, convinced that he would be the only one firing off his weapon today if he was given even the slightest excuse. And as soon as he walked out of his office, he was greeted with Kono holding out a piece of paper, a short profile of a man next to an address, the photo nothing more than the Hawaii standard driver's license photo. But Steve knew that this face, this would be the one he was hunting down today. He took it gratefully from Kono's hands, and marched off towards the door, knowing that the cousins would follow suit.

The address was nearby, for which Steve was glad, because his blood was already thundering in his ears, the suppressed rage for the crimes that people commit against humanity coming to rise in this pursuit. He only could hope that this man, this despicable being, would be home this afternoon.

Steve spared the man not an extra minute. He flipped the switch on his siren, let the lights go, and raced out of the parking lot as soon as he saw Chin's truck ready to pull out behind him. And it seemed that it was the very next instant he had his foot pressed to the floor, his car roaring down the street so that buildings became a blur to either side.

He slowed only once he was sure that he had come to the address, satisfied to see there was a car in the driveway of the small house. Steve didn't even allow the car to come to a full halt before he threw it into park and slid out the door, right hand on his gun, ready to draw at the very slightest notice.

"William Baur, open the door!" he bellowed as he rushed towards the door, knocking his fist on the wood so hard that the frame trembled with the force. Through his peripheral vision he could see Chin and Kono approaching from behind, but they were far enough back for now. His vision flickering forward, he observed a fluttering curtain in the door beside the window, then a shadowy figure ducking out of view.

There was no hesitation for Steve to plant his foot firmly on the door and push in with all of his might, the door crashing forward and wood splintering around him. Although the shards came forward to hit his face, that didn't stop the seasoned warrior as he charged forward, grabbing his gun from its holster, chasing the silhouette that ducked towards the back of the house. His vision tunneled, and every part of his body was beating with intense fury, rage even, like an animal on the hunt for prey.

His feet thundered through the messy and cramped rooms, and he shoved open the back door just as the criminal pushed his way into the backyard. Just as the sun hit his eyes, Steve dove forward, his arms wrapping around the burly man that had tried to run from the justice that Steve knew was waiting for him in a jail cell. They both went slamming into the ground, although William absorbed most of the impact. The two slid forward across the grass, the man grunting as Steve got his bearing.

"William Baur, you're under arrest under charges of raping an underage girl" Steve growled viciously, yanking the man's arms behind his back before the he had a chance to do anything more than cry out in pain from the harsh fall.

Chin and Kono followed closely behind, and Steve noticed that Chin had the slightest smile on his face at the sight of the victorious arrest. And for a moment, Steve felt pride as well. The red-clouded vision was fading, and the adrenaline was successfully running its course as his heartbeat slowed, and he got to his feet, yanking the criminal up beside him.

It turned out that the victory would not appease him for even a few more moments. His stomach turned at realizing that once again, Danny was not by his side. His partner, his brother, was not here to see him accomplish this task to bring justice to a filthy criminal. The anger returned, anger at the fact this man had done such unspeakable things, anger at the realization Danny wasn't here beside him and wouldn't ever be again, and anger at the events that had led up to this point and every circumstance associated with this unbearable pain.

"Chin, you take this one" Steve couldn't help but mutter, shoving William off to the older man, allowing him to take this one back to the station. Steve knew they didn't need an interrogation, that Christina's statement would be enough to incriminate the man. He wasn't obligated to self-incriminate by any means, but there was something else that Steve needed, that he wanted, that he had a deep desire for. As Chin led William away, preparing to take him back to the station, Steve cracked his knuckles and climbed back into the truck. He knew what he wanted, and whatever he wanted, he was going to get.

**Thank you so much for all of the immense support on this story! I appreciate every single review, favorite, and alert that I get! It always astounds me how kind and generous you all are with your words. If there is anything that you want to see, or any suggestions that you have, feel free to drop it in a review! Any critique is also appreciated. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed!**


	19. Chapter 19

Steve walked down the dimly lit hall, ignoring the multitude of shadows he cast on the cinderblock walls. His eyes were set straight ahead, fists clenched at his side, sounds falling dull on his ears. There was one thing that he wanted, one thing that he knew in his heart he needed. This pent up anger, this frustration, was serving no one any good, especially not Steve. His judgment was clouding, and god did he know it, but here he was, dead set on doing what his heart was telling him needed done.

"Are you sure about this?" Chin asked, the calm voice cutting through the ocean of thoughts that was storming Steve's head. "You don't want to do something that you're going to regret. Kono and I can handle this one, if you need us to."

"That's the last thing I need" Steve hissed, glaring at Chin with a sudden bite of hostility to his gaze. Yet not even this phased the Hawaiian man, for he simply closed his tired eyes and nodded.

"I understand, Steve. But I'm going to be out here, okay? I'll wait here for you." And to this, Steve looked at the ground, not wanting Chin to be there for what he knew was about to happen, what he was going to do if given the very slightest excuse. And from the way Chin was looking at him, he knew too. But there wasn't a thing in the world that Steve could do to make him leave at this point. So he resigned, and without another word, grabbed the worn door handle and walked into the interrogation room.

William Baur sat handcuffed to the metal chair, his head hanging down until Steve walked in the room, at which point he perked up. It sickened Steve to look into this man's eyes, even in this light, he could see the lack of soul behind them, the lingering filth in his pupils.

"I already told the other guy I didn't do it. I don't know what my poor niece was thinking, but she must be very troubled if she took the actions that she did. I've been a bit busy to visit her in the hospital, but whatever she's telling you, I just don't-"

Steve cut him off with a square punch to the jaw that sent William's entire body swaying to the side, to such a point that he nearly toppled off the chair. The man was sent screaming again, a sound that reminded Steve of a pig. The rage that Steve had been suppressing finally tore itself free through the physical violence, and in the voice that ripped itself from Steve's throat.

"I know what you did! So shut up, you piece of shit, unless you want to tell the truth! This isn't just about a little girl that you've scarred for life and pushed to the brink of suicide, it's about the fact that a police officer almost lost his life trying to save her. All of that, that entire chain of events? It all comes right back to you!" he roared, spittle flying from his lips and into William's face. The man still had his mouth gaping open, his hands straining as if they wanted to come up to soothe the area where the blow was inflicted. But still the man did nothing but shake his head, looking up at Steve with a glimmer of contempt.

"Listen man, you're crazy! You have no right to hit me! Besides, I'm telling the truth, okay? Jesus! You can't charge me with shit, because hell, I'm not a rapist, alright? And I don't got nothing to do with no cop getting hurt." and once it was clear that he wasn't going to speak anymore, Steve balled up his fist again.

This one went with his full strength straight into the man's face, striking his nose with such a force that Steve could feel the structure cracking under his knuckles. And the strength of this punch carried the man backward so much that the chair tilted from where it sat, and both man and chair went flying backwards.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" William screamed, and Steve saw red. Blood flew from the broken nose of the criminal that lay before him, but there was nothing more that Steve could do to restrain himself any further. instead of picking the man up before continuing his assault, Steve straddled the man's chest and inflicted blow after blow to the man's face, the blood from the damaged nose flowing over his knuckles, making some strikes graze away from the slickness.

Screaming filled the room, and Steve hardly processed that it had only been a matter of seconds, but strong hands were gripping his shoulders and pulling him back from the beaten man. Steve allowed himself to be restrained, hauled to his feet and away from the bloody mess that he had created with his fists.

"Steve, calm down" Chin spoke, or maybe yelled into his ears. Steve didn't know, because he was still breathing heavily, relishing in the sight of William's bloodied face, watching the man move his split and trembling lips.

"I did it, I did it, alright! Jesus, no harm in enjoying myself a little" he spluttered, blood flying from his lips as he spoke. At that comment, Steve was only further enraged, and strained against Chin's strong arms for another go at the criminal, who was spitting blood onto the cement.

"Steve, that's enough" Chin stressed, tightening his grip until Steve relented in the slightest. The red vision was clearing, almost as though his thirst for blood was being appeased, as though he were nothing more than an animal. He was pulled back just a little more, and finally he relaxed, allowing Chin to release his hands from Steve's shoulders.

"Do you know what they do to child rapists in prison? Do you?" Steve spit out over the man's weakening confessions. "This is just a taste of that. If you think you're hurting now, you have no idea what's coming for you. No idea."

Turning to Chin, Steve inhaled deeply, and blinked a few times to clear his vision.

"Listen, if you can take care of this, I'd appreciate it. We have a confession now"

"Steve-" Chin started softly, but Steve was already walking out the door, his strides long, leaving William and Chin behind.

The next actions were completed as though Steve was sleepwalking. His mind was numb, his heartbeat jumping in an uncomfortable staccato, and his vision was clouded at best. But still he got behind the wheel of his car, no break between the beating and the ignition, turning out onto the road with a disturbingly blank mind. It was almost as if Steve was running on autopilot as he took turn after turn, road after road until he came to a stop outside of the hospital.

He knew where Danny's room was, of course he did. He had been there just this morning, hadn't he? Hadn't he left the detective on the verge of tears after making a few possibly irreparable mistakes? But now he was back, and oh god he didn't know what he was going to say, he didn't even know why he was here, and how was he going to get there after visiting hours?

But the nurse at the desk knew him well enough from the past weeks, and let him in with a simple sign-in on the clipboard. And then Steve walked, biting down on his lip in nervousness, pacing outside of Danny's room.

For just a brief moment he thought of all that Danny had lost, and all of the pain that Danny had to be in. And he saw his own mistakes that he had made, the distancing from someone that he should be holding close, especially in his time of need. So he walked in on the next round past the door, and he saw Danny's head rise slightly from the pillow, eyes opening and sparkling in recognition.

"What is it, Steven?" The detective asked, his voice dull and lifeless. It was so monotone that Steve could practically feel it echoing inside of his mind, and he suddenly realized that he had no answer. He still didn't know why he was here. All he had was the knowledge of what he had done wrong, and hadn't done in its place. So in the absence of words, the stunned silence that he was so rarely overcome with, he walked closer to Danny.

"Steve?..." Danny asked warily as Steve's jaw went slack, lips moving as though they were straining to say something that he couldn't quite manage to speak. This silence spanned another eternity in which Steve looked at Danny, realizing that he was still the same as he had ever been, still sarcastic, still humorous, and still strong willed. He hadn't lost his personality, and that's what Steve had always loved.

"Steve, is that blood on your face?" Danny asked, reaching out a hand (how, Steve didn't know, not recognizing that his one arm had almost completely healed), almost as if he was beckoning Steve to come closer. And finally, Steve found the words he needed to speak, letting them roll out on a wavering tongue.

"I found him, Danny. I got him."

"Steve, oh my god, you're covered in blood. What did you do?" Danny asked, voice trembling although he were weak again. For a moment Steve thought that he saw Danny's eyes watering, as though he were about to cry. Then he realized that everything he saw was wavering slightly. This time, it was his eyes that were watering, burning really, with the sensation of tears that needed to fall. Steve looked down at his hands, and realized that they were still covered in blood, and it had splattered both his shirt and forearms.

"I did it for you" Steve muttered, trying to hastily wipe the blood from his knuckles onto his shirt, where he smeared messily with the rest of the crimson. Blinking aside the tears in his eyes, Steve could see Danny wince and close his eyes, leaning his head back on the pillow.

"God, Steve, I don't even know what to say. What have you done?" he moaned, and this time Steve knew it wasn't out of physical pain. Steve couldn't do anything except fall to his knees beside the bed, grabbing Danny's less damaged hand as gently as he could. He could only bend his head forward as he quietly confessed his wrongdoings.

"I've made some mistakes, and I'm trying to fix them. I promise that you're not a problem. I know that I've been treating you poorly, and I've really made some mistakes. But I promise that I will always be there for you. You're like a brother to me. And any challenges that we have, we're going to face together, alright? It doesn't matter what happens. I just let my anger at the circumstances cloud my better judgment. And I'm sorry."

After a moment, Steve looked up, feeling the burning rise fresh in his eyes. But he was greeted by a sight that he didn't expect to see- Danny smiling. A small smile was growing across the detective's face, and there was a small light in his blue eyes. Cocking his head to the side, Steve waited patiently for an explanation, knowing that Danny would have to provide one. With a slight chuckle escaping his lips, Danny did just that.

"I don't think I've ever heard you apologize before, babe. I think I'm going to relish in this moment just a few seconds longer before I start sobbing like a baby, alright?" he said with a grin. And this was what broke Steve, knowing that his partner was still there for him as much as ever, and that maybe, just maybe, he could repair the mistakes that he had made.

As Steve buried his head in the crook of his own arm, using every ounce of willpower he had in himself not to sob, he felt the most comforting thing in the world- the hand that he was holding, although it was still wrapped in bandages and wires, gave a small squeeze back.

**Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I most sincerely appreciate every single review, alert, and favorite that I get on this story! Special thanks to the reviewers that stick by with me every single chapter! The motivation you guys give me is amazing! And true to my word, I tried to comply to some requests- not only is this chapter twice as long as most of the others, and Steve and Danny meet again (there you go, sue2556). Seriously, any critiques are welcome, just drop a review if you have anything to say! Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	20. Chapter 20

Steve had decided to stay the night, returning to the less than comfortable plastic chair that he was confined to by Danny's bedside. While the detective slept, Steve surveyed how the damage had been healing in his absence. The arm that had only been fractured, and had left the fingers mostly intact, was almost completely free from bandages. In addition to this improvement, Danny had reported that the pain in his chest from the broken ribs was decreasing by the day, and although it still hurt to breathe much more than shallow breaths, speaking was coming easier.

The most pleasing to Steve was the lack of machines in the room, for only one or two were beeping softly and subtly this night. Danny was out of the woods for his immediate risks, and would be moved to a much more general room within the next day or two. Although it meant that the privacy would be slightly fractured, Steve was thankful that the recovery was indeed moving along. He gave a soft smile through the darkness towards Danny, who was sleeping peacefully through the night now, the pain being treated more effectively.

Steve was jolted into alertness when his phone vibrated in his pocket, reverberating against the plastic that he sat on. Quickly he got to his feet, hustling out into the hallway to answer the call that was coming in. Upon picking up, he was greeted with a familiar voice, one that was full of concern.

"Steve, we might have a problem."

"What is it, Chin?" Steve asked, feeling unease roll through his gut at the amount of concern that Chin was expressing. And if he was indeed concerned enough to be calling at two in the morning, the matters must be of some severity.

"You shouldn't have done what you did earlier. After getting his broken nose patched up in the infirmary, he started complaining about the crazy cop that had done it to him. He's going to file for assault. And there's another problem- we didn't even have a warrant for his arrest. If he figures that out, we could be in serious trouble."

"The governor will cut us a break at least this once, won't he, Chin?" Steve hissed into the phone, not quite in the mood to be dealing with matters he thought he had well and buried earlier in the day. He might have acted impulsively, and he might have spent a fair bit of time washing the blood off of himself, but that didn't mean that he deserved to have his actions come back and bite him. Chin's sigh was audible through the phone, a breathy and crackly sound.

"I don't know, Steve. There have been a lot of 'one times' that man has granted us. And we don't have full immunity anymore. You have to remember that we're not outside the law. The way you acted today, I don't agree with it, and it was outside the law. We could be facing some serious consequences here" It was all Steve could do to bite back a scream of frustration. Biting down on the inside of his tongue, he shut his eyes, shaking his head in a display of the denial he was feeling biting inside.

"You don't think I don't know that? The point is, he confessed, you got it in a statement, and he's going away for his actions. At this point, we don't even need Cristina to stand in on trial for him, he's given a full confession from what you told me. What I did that was wrong, yes, but it got the job done. That's what we're paid to do. Get the bad guys. If it makes the governor feel any better, we'll have the completed search warrants for the suspected cartel members by the break of dawn. We don't have anything to worry about" and although he spoke it with confidence, Steve wasn't too sure about what he said. The governor wasn't always the most forgiving type.

"Whatever you say, Steve" Chin finished, and hung up the phone before Steve had a chance to reply another time. With the phone sitting in the palm of his hand, Steve looked up into the bright lights of the ceiling, trying to push away the combination of doubt and exhaustion. He had always pulled through any other incidents that came up in the line of work, and this one wouldn't be any different.

So without another moment of hesitation, Steve turned back into the hospital room where Danny slept, and settled himself in the chair once more. Although he hadn't told Danny exactly what he had done to the criminal, from the scene that he had presented, it was quite obvious that Danny had figured out what happened. But his partner hadn't expressed anything about that occurrence, positive or negative, so Steve knew he didn't have anything to worry about.

It wasn't half an hour later when Steve went to check his emails, sorting through a host of information that had come in while he was working. Although the initial few had to deal with caseloads, there was another one with the Governor's name that stood out to Steve.

With regret mounting instantly, Steve opened the email, and found nothing more than a simple request- a meeting with the Governor in the morning. Checking the time, Steve noted that the meeting in question was supposed to occur in just about five hours, which didn't leave him much time to freshen up, dress up, and get over to the Governor's office.

Looking back at Danny with regret, Steve sighed, and put the phone back into his pocket.

"I'll see you as soon as I can, partner. I know I'll get things to work out" he said softly through the dark, and turned to leave the hospital, grabbing a coffee on the way out.

The coffee was nursed carefully over the next hour, which led Steve back to his house, through the shower, and through his usual rituals of morning preparation. As he peered in the mirror, observing the growing black beneath his eyes, he longed for a moment that he was a female and could hide his growing sleep deprivation with nothing more than a tube of paint. Yet it wasn't quite that simple, as proven by the fact he had to shear off the growing mess of stubble that had overcome his chin and neck, and slicking back the tousled hair on his head, which had a few noticeable grey strands emerging from the sides.

The drive to the governor's office took a considerable amount of time, and it had almost been a full five hours of preparation, sitting in traffic, and waiting before Steve was welcomed into the waiting area for the Governor's office. As he sat there, the collar of his shirt rubbing up against his neck uncomfortably, Steve went over his planned responses in his head. He had formulated a series of answers to many questions that the Governor might give him, and as he repeated them over once again, his confidence that he would be without consequence mounted.

"Good morning, Steve" he was greeted suddenly by a deep voice. Steve looked up from his lap, and saw that the door on the other side of the room had opened, and the Governor was standing in the threshold. Nodding his head and getting to his feet, Steve walked hurriedly over to the entrance, and followed the Governor into the lavishly furnished office. The two men sat without another word, the Governor staring at Steve from behind a large desk.

The harsh glare made Steve want to flinch back, but he internalized the emotions that were running through him and focused forward, looking at the man that could decide either his success or termination. After a deep breath, the Governor spoke.

"I was alerted immediately of your actions yesterday. I assume that you know already that they were wrong, so I am going to give you a chance, and this one chance to explain yourself. Choose your words wisely, Commander" he spoke sternly, and Steve cleared his throat, pulling fragments from the responses that he had prepared in his mind.

"Sir, this case has affected our team quite closely, even costing us one field officer, almost causing him to lose his life. This man had been raping a teenage girl, and it caused her distress to the point where she attempted to take her own life. I found that it would be in the best interests of many people if this man was arrested immediately, and taken into police custody. As for my actions that followed, I do not have an excuse for them, sir" he finished curtly, and was left in silence, uncomfortable. A few more moments passed, and the Governor sighed, placing his elbows on the desk and folding his hands together.

"Believe me, Commander, I want men like that to be arrested just as much as you do. But you no longer have full immunity. You, and your team, went outside of the law in apprehending this man. And for yourself, you assaulted a man in custody. I know that you hunger for justice, and trust me, I do as well. But this is not the way that the law says that we must go about these things. I appreciate your apprehension of this man, and I myself hope that he pays for his heinous crimes. What you did, however, cannot go unaddressed. I made the decision myself that, as to avoid the loss of yet another valuable asset to your team, that you will not be charged or dismissed. However, I will have it mandated that you must attend twice weekly sessions with the law enforcement psychologist. Do you understand?"

Resisting the urge to smile in relief, Steve nodded as respectfully as possible. Relief was flooding his veins, and although the prospect of wasting valuable time in the office of some shrink was quite uncomfortable to him, he was glad that he wasn't facing any more punishment for his unacceptable actions.

"Thank you, sir" he said politely, and the governor gave a short nod.

"Very well, then. I expect to never hear of an incident like this again, for if I do, I will be forced to take stronger action against you and your team. For the sake of the record, I will state that you thought this man was an immediate flight risk and did not have the time to obtain a warrant. Have a good day, Commander, and I hope that Mr. Williams recovers swiftly."

Steve nodded at his dismissal, and left the room swiftly and silently, still thanking fate in his mind for the fact that he was so lucky as to have dodged the bullet again.

**Thank you all so much for the continued support on this story! You guys are crazy amazing with all of your reviews! I love reading each and every one of them. The support I'm getting is tremendous, thank you all so much! I appreciate every review, alert, and favorite I get on this story!**


	21. Chapter 21

"Hey, look at this, we both have therapy today. Except I get a nurse helping me around for an hour, and you have a cranky old man and an uncomfortable couch" Danny joked as Steve checked his phone with a grumble.

"You know I'm not too thrilled about this, Danny. You know what they have me going in for? Anger management problems, and an inability to follow authority. Two sessions a week for a minimum of three months. Do you know how much of my time that is?"

"You got yourself into this mess, babe" Danny laughed, fidgeting in the bed. "I on the other hand, have physical therapy every day for the next forever. But hey, the Doc says that he's looking hopeful on me keeping at least some dexterity in my right hand and wrist. He didn't promise that I can hold a gun again, but I might be able to at least work a computer for some desk job somewhere" he said with a smile, which Steve appreciated. Even though things were still as they were with Danny's injuries, it made him feel better to see the detective looking on the positive side.

In fact, Steve noticed that Danny's attitude improved with each visit he made to the hospital between work. It was almost as if he was some sort of medicine, a tension reliever, even, to Danny. On top of this, Steve had been working hard to repair some of the mistakes he had made. In his spare time at the office he had been researching things that could assist Danny with independence and mobility around the home, and laws associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

What Danny didn't know is that Steve was preparing to do something over the coming weekend, something that would take most of his time in those two days. Though he would prefer to spend them with Danny, Steve knew that the simple modification that he would be making to his home would make things much easier for Danny in the coming months.

The pair had agreed that Danny would stay at Steve's place for the next lengthy while, possibly for a year or more. Even though Danny wanted to regain his independence as soon as possible, it was a mutual agreement that while Danny learned to handle the extend of his disability, two were better than one. Danny had only joked that there would be no assistance when it came to bathing, to which Steve had readily agreed.

But Steve was no stranger to woodworking, and knew that a ramp to his front door would give Danny some of the independence that he wanted while staying with Steve, and would make things much simpler when he visited in the future. Chin and Kono were the ones working with Danny on getting him a suitable wheelchair, and that would be further discussed at Danny's therapy session today. however, Steve had another commitment- the therapy session of his own.

William Baur was well behind bars at this point, and the fact that he had confessed fully to his crimes meant that Christina would not have to stand at trial, saving the young woman from any more trauma. Steve had allowed Danny to be the one to tell the girl this information, and although he hadn't been there, Steve saw that Danny got emotional at the mere discussion of his interaction with the girl. Outside of this confinement to the sessions with the psychologist, Steve found that the criminal aspects of the case were wrapping up quite nicely.

A nurse walked into the room, pushing a wheelchair in front of her, a bright smile on her face. The woman was young and beautiful, and Steve practically burst into laughter when he saw Danny's eyes widen.

"Don't get too excited, brah, how do you know she's here for you?" he joked with Danny, and the detective only shot him a glare as the woman made her way to the bedside.

"I am here to see you to your physical therapy session, Detective Williams" she said with a smile, checking over his casts and bandages with a careful eye and a cheery expression. As she checked the casts on his legs for a final time, Danny shot Steve a wide smile, and an exaggerated wink followed.

Steve could only roll his eyes, and check his phone, which reminded him that he had to get going or risk missing his first session for 'anger management.' Shoving his phone back in his pocket, Steve feigned remorse.

"It looks like I'm going to have to abandon you, Danny, and miss out on your thrilling therapy session."

"Don't worry, princess, I'm sure they'll have a fun time digging around in your brain" Danny said with a chuckle as he was helped to sit up completely. Steve gave him a final farewell before leaving, knowing that Danny was surely in good hands, and that he was slowly and surely on the road to recovery.

**This chapter is so ridiculously short and basically unacceptable, but I figured I needed a short transition in here somewhere. I promise that the next one will be longer! And a little more exciting. I swear, it will get much more exciting and emotional. Just a few more chapters! Thanks for much for sticking with me for so long and leaving me so many amazing and positive reviews. **


	22. Chapter 22

"So, are you ready?" Steve asked with a smile, which Danny returned.

"As if I'm not ready to get some fresh air for the first time in practically two months. Now get your hands off, alright? I can do this myself" he replied indignantly, pushing himself away from Steve's hands. The commander couldn't help but chuckle, pleased that Danny had retained his sense of humor and short temper through so many trials. The release form left Steve's hand, and with a short goodbye to the nurse at the desk, Danny and Steve walked towards the doors of the hospital.

Although Steve wouldn't admit it, he could see the sparkling in Danny's eyes, the enthusiasm that he held as he wheeled himself towards the sliding glass doors, to the parking lot just outside. Steve knew that he had heard the doors almost every day, passing through them just as often. But that was a luxury that Danny hadn't had for quite a long time, confined to the hospital and its plain white walls.

It was a victory to Steve to watch Danny push himself out onto the pavement, the wheels of his new wheelchair coasting smoothly across the pavement. Exiting the overhang in front of the hospital main entrance, the sun hit Danny's face, and Steve heard the detective sigh, and watched a broad smile spread across his face. Steve almost wanted to stop and just capture this moment, the first step towards Danny's independence, and his freedom from the confinement of the hospital.

"There he is!" a pleasant female voice called out, and Steve sniffed in satisfaction as Kono and Chin walked around the corner, smile on their faces, and Kono had her hands extended. Danny moved forward to meet her, and she leaned down to embrace him as best she could where he sat.

"I didn't expect to see you guys here" Danny said happily, turning to face Steve over his shoulder. Steve felt a warmth inside of him, something that he felt rarely, and hadn't felt at all since Danny had first been injured. This pure happiness inside was amplified when Chin chuckled, rolling his eyes in Danny's direction.

"That's why it's a surprise, brah. Nice to see you out here again. Now, since work is about over, we were all heading over to Steve's place for dinner with you" Chin revealed, and looking down at Danny, Steve noticed the smile drop slightly, but Danny's response was still just as enthusiastic.

"No, you guys don't have to trouble yourselves like that. Steve and I will make do, besides, I have to work on getting settled in my temporary housing arrangement. It's getting late anyway. Thanks for coming out, but Steve and I can make it alone tonight"

The team remained smiling, but it was obvious that no one wanted to make the mood any more tense. The cousins merely nodded, and Kono ruffled Danny's messy hair before turning around.

"Alright, whatever you say Danny. Chin and I will head back home then. See you at the office tomorrow, bright and early! Nice to see you out and about" Kono said as she departed, and Chin gave a brief wave as they turned their backs, walking out towards Chin's truck.

Despite the fact that Steve didn't know the cause of Danny's discomfort, but put a hand on his friend's shoulder and motioned to where the vehicle was waiting. Danny went that direction without another word, smile fading slightly, eyes squinting against the bright light of sunset. The attitude was quickly adjusted, however, once he saw the vehicle awaiting him.

"No way, aw man I missed this sweet ride" Danny said with a smile, running his left hand through his hair, edges of his eyes wrinkling in delight as he hurried over to his car. Steve laughed, and opened the passenger side door, suddenly realizing with an acute awkwardness that he didn't know exactly how to help Danny.

Danny must have noticed Steve's awkwardness, and relief washed over Steve when his partner raised a hand, motioning for him to stop.

"Don't worry, Steve, I can do this myself, as long as you can get my wheels loaded into the back seat. Do you really think that all of that physical therapy was for nothing? I can get around alright now, but it'll take a bit longer to get things down real well. But getting into a car, yeah, I can do that" he muttered, staring at the open door with a determined face, eyes intent on the seat that sat in front of him.

While he got closer and reached his left arm inside the vehicle, Steve moved to the trunk and opened it, pretending to move things around to make room, but still paying attention to the sounds of Danny's frustration, the soft and gentle grunts as he lifted himself into the car, maneuvering his body as best he could without the use of his legs. The least he could do at this point was spare his friend some dignity as he adjusted to life outside of those terrible, sterile walls.

"Alright Steve, you can pack it up now" Danny called from inside of the Camaro, and Steve went over to the wheelchair, collapsing it and putting it in the trunk before climbing into the drivers seat.

It was more than a relief to watch the tall hospital building disappear out of sight in the rear view mirror, and Steve felt much more comfortable driving in this car than he ever did in his own. The wheel felt comfortable under his palms, and the buttons were all within in touch. Danny ran his hand over the warm seats before turning to Steve.

"Now, let me just tell you, since I can't drive this car anymore, the least I can do is pick the radio station, alright?" he prodded before placing his hand on the radio and turning the station to the latest sports statistics.

"Hey, no no no!" Steve exclaimed, immediately tuning the station to the local classic rock station, and giving Danny a glare from the corner of his eye.

"I still get to pick the radio" he said forcefully. "That's how it is, in any civil situation, it's common knowledge that the driver gets to pick what's on the radio."

Of course, Danny did nothing other than reach for the radio again, a bright confidence rang in his voice, the same voice which had been so weak just a few weeks ago. Steve couldn't help but roll his eyes, feeling his lips raise slightly in the faintest smile as he prepared to grapple for control of the radio once again.

The friendly debate carried with them as they kept going towards Steve's place. Upon pulling into the driveway, Steve turned to look at Danny's face, hoping that he noticed his hard work immediately. And to his deep pleasure, Danny did. The blond man groaned, bringing his hand up to rub his chin as he stared over Steve's recently completed handiwork. The bright wood shone in the setting sun, and Danny just shook his head.

"I can't believe that you did this, Steve. But thanks. Seriously, thank you" he said quietly, his voice full of emotion. Steve just patted Danny's shoulder and threw the Camaro into park, going back around to the trunk to pull out the wheelchair for Danny.

The progress was slow but sure, and Danny made his way into the house with what appeared to be a minimal amount of trouble, grinning as he propelled himself up Steve's handmade accessible ramp, slowly but surely. Glad to see that his hours of hard work had paid off, Steve opened the door and the pair went inside, newly redesigned to allow adequate space for Danny wherever he had to go.

"Thanks, Steve" Danny said, the tone in his voice extremely genuine, and the look in his eyes one of pure gratitude. Steve gave a lopsided grin, and shut the door behind him, walking into the kitchen.

"I'll get dinner started, alright? You just take a look around, I've set your stuff up in the living room-" he started, but Danny cut him off, much to his surprise.

"I'm not too hungry, if that's alright with you. I think I'd rather get right to sleep on something that's not a hospital bed. I assume you have the couch for me?" Danny asked, and Steve nodded, wrinkling his brow in confusion. The detective very rarely had a lack of appetite, although he hadn't been able to closely observe the detective's eating schedule. But he was more than happy to comply, showing Danny to the makeshift bed he had made up on the old couch, hoping that it would be as comfortable to Danny now as it had been every other time that he had crashed there.

As soon as Danny helped himself into the mess of blankets and pillows, he gave Steve a small grin, letting his head rest back on the pillow behind his neck. The wheelchair was within reach of the detective's good arm, and Steve took a few moments to explain the new layout before he left Danny to sleep in peace for the night.

And as Steve climbed into his own bed, he sighed deeply, knowing that his best friend was finally home, sleeping just below him.

**Thank you so much for the incredible and tremendous support on this story! I love each and every review, alert, and favorite that I get on this story, and appreciate everyone who reads this more than you could ever imagine! If you have any critique, ideas, suggestions, or anything else, feel free to drop a review! Once again, thank you so much!**


	23. Chapter 23

The morning came far too quickly for Steve, his alarm going off with a shrill screeching sound, waking him up instantly. He groaned beneath his breath, and groped for the alarm clock with a spare hand, reaching for the gun under his pillow with the other. Swinging his feet out over the bed, he slid the pistol into the waistband of his boxers and rubbed the palms of his hands into his eyes to push away the sleepiness that hung over him. It was a Saturday morning, and he had taken the day off to spend time with Danny and learn a bit more around his friend's situation.

It took a few minutes for Steve to stumble to the bathroom, cracking his joints as he went, and brushing his teeth. He chose not to dress in new clothes quite yet, yanking on the jeans that he had worn the night before over his boxers, still letting the gun rest his back.

With a silent yawn, he jumped down the last three steps, as a child would, and landed silently on the balls of his feet before turning into the living room. The lamp in the corner was on, and the rest of the curtains over the windows were drawn. Golden light seeped in through the slits on either side of the window, but none too close to Danny's eyes, which were still closed.

Smiling slightly, he walked on silent feet into the kitchen, flicking on the stove and throwing open the fridge. Lately, more often than not, his lunch had been picked up on his way to the office, and his dinner had been nothing more than the fare from the hospital cafe, neither of which had been all too satisfying. He was determined to make this breakfast, the first with Danny home, a good one. There wasn't much in terms of the food that he had, but the carton of fresh eggs would have to do.

It took him only a few minutes to whip up the eggs and put them in the pan, and a sound distracted him over the hissing of his breakfast. With one final check that the eggs were running no risks of burning, Steve padded over to the living room, looking at the tangle of blankets on the couch that was finally starting to shift back and forth.

The only thing that Steve could see from under the blankets was a tousled mess of blond hair, and soon afterward, a wrinkled forehead and squinted eyes. He grunted again, and drew the blanket up over his head again, making a pathetic attempt to hide away from Steve and the rest of the morning.

"Go away, Steve. It's the weekend, and you know that if I don't have work, I like to sleep till noon" he grunted from beneath the wool, and Steve merely pushed the wheelchair towards Danny's hand, which was hanging over the edge of the couch. Upon the metal touching it, Danny groaned and drew his hand under the blanket, a soft whine coming into his voice, as though he were nothing more than a child.

"There's breakfast waiting, Danny, scrambled eggs. No Spam included this time around. Now rise and shine, I'll meet you in the kitchen" he prompted his friend before turning back to the kitchen, hoping that he hadn't spent too long with Danny so that the eggs had burned. Thankfully, however, upon arriving to the pan, he found that they were perfectly cooked, and he smiled. It had been quite some time since he had chosen to play chef, much less so with breakfast food.

The two place settings at the table were filled by plates and glasses quickly, the warm food sitting on less than decorative white paper plates, but tall glasses of juice sat beside a pitcher of water, which was already sweating onto the table.

Not wanting his work to go wasted, Steve went back to the living room, ready to prod Danny to get up once more, but he was greeted with the sight of his friend slouching over in his chair, head in his hands, groaning and running his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, I hear you, princess, give me a god damn minute to get up. I literally have to swing my legs over the edge of the bed, alright? Takes me a little bit of time. And before you say anything, I can smell those damn eggs from here, don't tell me that you have some waiting for me, because I don't think I can stomach it, I really don't" he grumbled beneath his breath, pulling the blanket over his legs.

"One thing I'd kill for is a good shower" Danny continued, turning himself away from Steve. "I know you have the shower down on this floor, and I checked it out in the bathroom last night. Thanks for getting it set up so I can use it, but unless you have some of my clothes here, this situation isn't too pretty" he commented softly, something Steve recognized as a weak attempt to make a joke. Yet there was nothing he could do than humor his friend's tired speech, turning back to the kitchen.

"Whatever you want, Danny. There are a few pairs of shirts and pants of yours here, I have them put in a drawer by the TV stand, and you'll find all the towels and toiletries already stocked in the bathroom. But this is just for your first few days here, understand? I'm not a hotel maid, you can do your own chores."

"Whatever you say. And one thing, Steve, just put a shirt on. We aren't those kind of friends" Danny muttered, then pushed himself off to the bathroom. Steve couldn't do anything other than shake his head and watch Danny leave, before turning back to the kitchen once again.

He took a moment to stare at the eggs that he had spent the short morning preparing, and with regret stinging in his gut, he grabbed the plate that Danny was supposed to eat and chucked it into the trash can. It was slightly unnerving that Danny hadn't only denied dinner the night before, but breakfast as well. He knew he couldn't dwell on it, but it suddenly bothered him that he didn't know the small things, like Danny's eating habits at the hospital, or the exercises that the physical therapists had him doing. There had only been so much time to spend in that sterile, and rather hostile, environment.

Sitting down at the place he had prepared for himself, Steve shoveled the eggs into his mouth as quickly as possible, ignoring the fact that he still didn't have a shirt on. It was a relatively pleasant morning, and his house was holding a comfortable temperature without anything more than an overhead fan churning lazily to circulate the air. Living with Danny was going to be strange and difficult in the coming days, but he knew he couldn't do too much to ease the friction that was completely inevitable.

As soon as the plate was scraped clean, and the sound of water was coming from down the main hall, Steve threw his dishes into the trash and dumped out the juice into the sink. It felt like such a waste, but there wasn't much he could do. If Danny wasn't going to eat this morning, he wasn't going to. Besides, the rest of the day would be both slow and busy.

The next weeks were going to be full of learning. Steve learning how to help Danny, and Danny learning to be both independent and strong in his new way of living. There would be ups and downs of course, and a great deal of struggling, but that didn't mean Steve didn't have full confidence that Danny would recover. In fact, he planned to come go to the office with Danny on Monday just to ensure that he would be able to access all that he needed, and get settled in his office, which was now set to accommodate a great deal of paperwork and desk work.

Steve only hoped that Danny would get showered soon, because surprise resonated warmly in his gut as he remembered the plans for the rest of the day. It would be one thing learning to deal with Danny and the new aspects of his life with a disability, but Steve was preparing to take on a much larger task, one that would hopefully boost Danny's moral by quite a bit. He would get that done as soon as Danny was ready for the day.

Smiling, Steve turned back towards the stars, heading up to fetch a shirt. It was indeed going to be a busy day, one out of many in the weeks to come.

**Thank you so much for the continued and undying support on this story! I have two or three more chapters in mind before this story comes to a close, so thank you so much to everyone for hanging in there with me! The amount of reviews on this story is ridiculous! I absolutely love everyone who reads, reviews, favorites, or subscribes to alerts for this story! I can't thank you enough!**


	24. Chapter 24

As soon as Danny got out of the shower, Steve was prompting him to get into the car. The detective was indignant, insisting that he had to fix his hair and personal appearance before they went out anywhere, and he was even more frustrated that Steve was refusing to say where they were going.

"The least you could do is tell me where you're dragging me. Not only did you wake me up way earlier than I ever wanted to be woken on a Saturday, but this is my first day home and you won't tell me where you're taking me. This sounds more like a kidnapping, and less than a warm welcome home" he muttered, and buttoned up the last few buttons on his checkered shirt.

"I promise, you'll thank me when we get there" Steve chuckled in reply, and grabbed the keys out of the glass bowl by the door, and opened it wide, motioning for Danny to come through. The blond haired man scowled in a clear expression of disgust, but after shaking his head slightly, he did nothing but comply.

The short streaks of blond were hanging in front of his eyes, still damp and limp. Although Steve knew that the detective would have preferred to take the time to style it, this was the condition it had been in for some weeks. Without the ability to use his right hand all too well, he wasn't able to use the products he normally would have manipulated through his short locks. This caused quite a fair deal of grumbling as Danny moved through the threshold of the door and out to his Camaro, but Steve shrugged it off, knowing that Danny's reaction to his surprise would be more than enough to ward off the ill will.

It took only a few minutes for Danny to maneuver himself into the vehicle and for Steve to lock up the house, and put Danny's things in the trunk. Before he got behind the wheel, Steve pulled up the GPS on his phone, and selected the address that he had gone to just a week and a half before. Placing it up on the dash, he started the engines, and backed out of the driveway.

For once, Danny didn't say a word, just crossed his arms and stared angrily out the window, the trees on the suburban drive moving by rather slowly. Steve was content for the first few minutes, but with such a prolonged period of silence with Danny at his side, he found that he was uncomfortable with the lack of banter. It was one thing to be alone in silence, but with Danny so near his side, and none of the usual banter cutting through the air, he was plunged into a new level of discomfort. In an attempt to ease the mood, Steve turned to Danny, and smiled.

"Come on, aren't you going to say anything? At least whine about something, come on, don't you hate me at least a little bit?" he prompted, to which Danny just grunted and glared at him.

"Listen, Steve, you woke me up this early on a Saturday, dragged me out of the house, and now I'm getting hauled off to god knows where. I'm not exactly thrilled" he grumbled, then looked back out the window, turning away from Steve.

Steve's smile dropped slightly, but he didn't hold Danny's attitude against him. It had to be hard for his friend to be adjusting, but Steve just hoped that his surprise would be something that at least brightened his mood slightly. Although the silence continued to bite, Steve gave a quick glance to the GPS, which promised him that it would be no more than five minutes until they arrived at the address. Steve pressed down a little further on the gas pedal, and hoped that Danny wouldn't stew much longer.

It was a mere four minutes later that they swept into a small suburban neighborhood, and pulled into the driveway of a modestly sized home. This finally caused Danny to perk up a little, on the realization that this of all places is where they were stopping.

"What is this place?" Danny asked, but Steve didn't reply. He just got out of the car, and pulled Danny's wheelchair from the back of the car, placing it beside the passengers side door.

"We don't have all day, they're expecting us any minute now" he told Danny through the window, and the blond detective just ruffled his hair before opening the door and heaving himself into his wheelchair, not bothering to spare Steve another dirty glare.

A minute later, Steve and Danny were waiting at the doorstep, and Steve knocked his knuckles against the door, and waited patiently for the door to open. Footsteps came faintly from inside, and moments later the door opened. A middle aged woman stood there smiling, and upon seeing the two men standing there, she smiled broadly and extended a hand towards Danny.

"Good morning gentlemen. You must be Detective Williams. Commander McGarrett had so much to say about you, and I'm very glad to finally see you. Please, come on in" she offered as Danny took her hand, shaking it. As soon as she turned around, Steve looked down at Danny, who silently mouthed 'what the hell.' Steve merely gave his simple, playful smile, and waited for Danny to let himself into the house before following.

They had hardly made it a couple of feet into the house before there came a gleeful yipping sound and the click of claws on linoleum tile. It came closer and closer until a bundle of golden fur came crashing into a gate over the nearest door. Danny's eyes widened, and the woman smiled, opening the door and letting a bundle of puppies come flying out from behind the threshold.

Three young dogs came bounding over to Steve and Danny, throwing their small paws as high up on their legs as they could, yipping and licking with wide open mouths. In their clumsiness, they were tripping over their paws and falling onto the floor, just to get back up again. The woman smiled, and reached down to pull them away.

"I know that the Commander didn't tell you, he wanted it to be a surprise. But this here" she said, grabbing the smallest puppy from the bundle and placing it on Danny's lap "is Maggie, your new golden retriever."

Danny's eyes widened as he held the small puppy in his arms, and she squirmed on his lap, straining up to lick at his chin. Steve smirked at Danny's momentary glint of panic, which melted quickly into excitement. His good hand ran over the puppy's head, but the small dog merely nosed his mangled right hand with a low whine, licking at it while wagging her tail.

"Maggie" he said softly, and he rubbed his eye with his wrist quickly, and Steve pretended not to notice that his eyes were watering as he brought his right hand up and tried to rub his fingers through the dog's golden hair. The woman was smiling, and Steve couldn't help but smile as well.

"Yeah, she's yours Danno. I hate to break it to you, but this was just a first visit. Maggie here is only about four weeks old, and we have to wait another two weeks before you bring her home. I just couldn't wait" he said with smile, and watched as Danny stroked her head as best he could, watching her wriggle and squirm with excitement.

Danny didn't say another word, just stared in disbelief at his new family member, then occasionally at Steve, gratitude unparalleled to anything else in his expression. Steve merely grinned, kneeling down to play with the other dogs at his feet, knowing that this was definitely a step in the right direction.

**Thanks so much for the support on this story! More than 100 reviews? This is insane! Just two more chapters of this story before it's all done and over with, thank you for bearing with me this long. Thank you for every single review, alert, and favorite on this story, and thanks to all of you for reading! I hope you enjoy!**


	25. Chapter 25

Despite how hostile Danny had been just earlier in the morning, now he was smiling and laughing. Even though he had initially been less than eager to leave the house, and his precious Maggie, Steve eventually dragged him back into the car. The smile on Danny's face could only be described as giddy, although sorrow sparkled in his eyes as they pulled away from the house.

"Did you see how small she was, Steve?" Danny asked, turning to look out the window again, the house growing smaller in the distance. There was an excited whine in the pitch of his voice when he spoke.

"Yeah, I did. You'll have to be careful though, I know that thing is going to grow to be real big. She'll be yanking you around before you know it" Steve joked, and Danny did nothing other than chuckle. His hands were already hunting for his phone, which he had used to snap multiple pictures of his new puppy.

"God, I can't wait to tell Grace about this. She'll love to meet Maggie, she'll love that dog more than anything in the world. I already love that dog more than anything, even you Steve. She's absolutely adorable. Do you think we can visit her again before the end of two weeks?" he asked excitedly, and Steve only shook his head. He knew that Danny would enjoy it, at least a little. The detective had always been more of a dog person, but his housing often hadn't allowed him to keep a pet. But now, in Steve's house for the foreseeable future, it only made sense to make that final step and actually purchase the puppy.

About to make some witty comment about this dog being their first child, Steve turned towards Danny. Before he could even open his mouth his eyes caught sight of his phone, which was ringing with Chin's number. Just as he was about to grab it, the police radio that sat between the two front seats went off with a squeal.

"Robbery in progress, all officers nearby please assist" before spitting out an address. Recognizing it as one nearby, Steve instinctively turned the wheel as soon as they came to the next intersection, glancing at the street names as they flashed by, hoping that he would get there in time.

"Shit Steve, what're you doing?" Danny yelled out as Steve accelerated again. Steve bit down on his lip, realizing that he had fallen back into such comfort with Danny back, he hadn't properly assessed the situation. His partner was unable to help him this time around, and wouldn't be able to again. Yet here he was, driving them forward as fast as he could straight to field work. But it was too late now- Steve was still an active field officer, armed, and with his badge. It was his civil obligation to help halt this crime. Shaking his head in frustration, Steve apologized as best he could as he groped for the switch to the sirens.

"I'm sorry, Danny, we have to respond to this call. You just stay in the car, alright? I'll be in and out with no problem. I'm sure that we won't be the first ones there, and it'll be wrapping up by the time we pull in"

"Not at the rate you're going" Danny hissed, grappling with his seatbelt for a slight bit more security. "We'll be the first ones there, I guarantee it. And you just want me to sit tight, is that it?" he commented through grit teeth.

"Yeah, that's it" was all that Steve muttered as he turned another corner, the car squealing as it came up on two wheels, then skidding to a halt in front of the address that had been broadcasted. And confirming Steve's worst fears, there were no other squad cars there yet.

He threw open the car door and grabbed the gun from where it was resting in it's holster, observing that the front door was left wide open, and it appeared that a plant on the front porch had been toppled. Walking around to the front, carefully, he cast a quick look to Danny.

"Stay here" he said before turning, and running towards the front of the house. It was without a second thought that he entered the house, gun held up at the ready, clearing the first few rooms without a second thought. They were already clearly searched through, bookshelves toppled, tables turned, and drawers torn apart. Then a booming sound came from somewhere above him, and Steve bounded up the stairs without hesitation.

As he walked down the left hall, he checked over his shoulder, and into the open doors. These appeared to already be ransacked, but he announced himself anyway.

"Five-O!" he shouted, trying to find the source of the noise as he checked each room. Just as he entered what appeared to be the master bedroom, which already had been torn apart, another crashing came from close by. Steve brought his gun up to bear again, facing the closet, which had just opened. Instead of a criminal, a middle aged woman stumbled out, looking distressed. Steve put his gun down immediately, and she held a cell phone tightly in her hand.

"He was just in here! I think he ran when he heard you come in" she yelled, just at the same time gunshots rang out front.

"Stay here!" Steve yelled out, bringing his gun up once again and sprinting out the very doors that he had just come through. His mind was full of terror, and Danny was the first thought on his mind. As he burst out into the sunlight, his eyes shot towards the car, and the first thing he saw was Danny lying on the pavement beside the Camaro, the door open, a gun in his left hand.

"Danny!" he yelled out, running towards his partner, but nearly tripping over the body that lay on the front lawn, groaning. The man writhing on the grass was clothed completely in black, with a ski mask over his face, grabbing at his gut, dark red staining the grass. Steve kicked the gun away from his hand, and ran over to Danny, who was straining to prop himself up on the side of the car.

"Danny, are you okay?" Steve fretted, looking the detective over, and noticed that there was nothing wrong. Danny's breathing was intense and heavy, and his eyes were closed, a gun clenched in his left hand. After another breath, Danny nodded, and let his grip on the gun loosen.

"He ran out the front, he was holding a gun. I just, grabbed the one from the glove box, and told him to drop his weapon and stop. He raised his gun up, and I had no choice but to fire. I'm sorry Steve, I'm sorry" he breathed, letting the pistol drop to the cement and putting his head in his hands.

"I didn't even know I could still shoot left handed. I thought you would have taken the pistol out of my car at least, I just, couldn't let him get away. It was like I just, I just forgot I wasn't a field agent anymore. It was only natural to grab the gun and stop him. I opened the door and I just fell out, and, I got him though. God, Steve I'm sorry" he muttered, wiping the tears falling from his eyes with his sleeve. "I'm sorry"

With a feeling that was similar to his heart tearing in two, Steve put his hand on Danny's shoulder, letting the detective mourn. It would be a difficult adjustment to his new life, maybe more so that Steve had ever anticipated.

**Thank you all so much for reading this far! I can't believe how many reviews and favorites that this story has received! I appreciate each and every single one, your continued support is amazing! Just one more chapter before this story wraps up, thanks for bearing with me! I hope you enjoy, feel free to comment anything you feel, just drop a review! Thanks again!**


	26. Chapter 26

It was almost a full month later that the team was finally settling back into a somewhat comfortable routine. Maggie had come home to her true home, and there wasn't a night that she wasn't curled at Danny's feet, sometimes wedging herself in between the detective and the cushions of the couch. The clumsy puppy had become the new mascot of the office, and since McGarrett was indeed the boss of the office, Maggie was always allowed in the office.

Danny's constant insistence that he didn't need to eat was tuned into McGarrett's observation far too late for his tastes. It turned out that Danny had been starving himself for quite some time, even the last few weeks he had been in the hospitals. Passing food off to other patients was a simple way to get out of finishing, or even consuming meals. The detective had been so worried about gaining weight without being able to run, he had resorted to nothing other than compulsive starvation. Now Steve had to watch him at every meal to ensure that he was consuming all of the nutrients he required, as well as taking Danny to have additional therapy- this time, a psychologist.

It was quite tiring to Steve to be driving around all the time, between Danny's physical therapy, to Danny's psychologist, to his own psychologist, to the various musculoskeletal doctors that Danny was seeing on a near weekly basis. Yet every time he found himself on the verge of complaint, he reminded himself that everything he did was crucial to the well being of his partner, both physically and mentally. Of course, there were also the trips to the vet to ensure that Maggie was up to date on all of her vaccines and identification.

The amount of love that Danny had for the constantly growing golden-furred creature was unbelievable. She was always at his side when he was awake, following right beside his wheelchair, nuzzling his hands whenever he was resting, leaping up onto his lap if he paused anywhere for more than a few seconds. The fact that Maggie loved an intense amount of attention was encouraging Danny to continue to work on regaining the use of his right hand, just for the sake of being able to attend to her with both hands, instead of just one.

It was hardest of all for him to begin adjusting to desk work. Sifting papers had never been something the Jersey detective completely dreaded, but it still was far from his favorite task. Somehow, through some miracle, Danny had kept his whining to a minimum, and his bright skills as a detective weren't limited just to the field. He had made several significant breakthroughs just by pushing papers at his desk, and helped the team crack at least three tough cases so far.

Danny had also been helping around Steve's house- it honestly felt as though the detective was his wife at some points. When he wasn't pestering Steve to do the chores that he couldn't quite reach, he was moving things around himself, and whining about areas that weren't completely handicap accessible as according to ADA laws. In the little spare time he had, the detective spent time pursuing local areas that were not compliant to these laws, and had a habit of throwing quite a fit if they were too far inaccessible for his needs.

Steve had been acting as both a friend and a chauffeur, pretending not to hear Danny crying softly long, dark nights, and going downstairs to sit with him on the nights that were plagued with nightmares and louder sobbing. He did his best to give his friend both comfort and dignity in his time of need, although Danny hardly returned to favor, endlessly teasing him about Steve's visits to the psychologist, which were still two months from ending.

The friction came and went between the two, but Kono and Chin were spared from most conflict. They had been kind to Danny, and Danny had been completely kind in return. They had helped with his general mobility around the office, and his desk and supplies as well. At the same time, however, they had grown more professional. The Governor was allowing Danny to stay on the team as a type of secretary and paperwork manager, and Steve had been ignoring the calls insisting that they needed another field agent. Danny was still his partner, and would always be. No one, and nothing, would ever get in the way of that.

Steve still had his partner, his best friend, and now a new four legged friend that rode happily in the back of the car each day. He had his home and his job still intact. There was nothing more in the world that he needed. And with Danny on the road to recovery, and still his friend, there was nothing more than he wanted.

**-END-**

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**I hope that everyone enjoyed this story! I will be posting another Five-0 story at some point in the near future, although it won't be connected to this one in any way, so if you really loved my writing (you're crazy if you do) feel free to tune in some time later next week for the first chapter. Just one more thanks to all of the love you guys gave me, and I hope you enjoyed!**


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